


Happily Forever After

by YankeeGrl27



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 12:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 49
Words: 152,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7463679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YankeeGrl27/pseuds/YankeeGrl27
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story picks up a month after season 4 ends. The story starts off with everyone trying to save Emma and banish The Dark One for good. Can Regina and Robin get their happy ending? Can Emma and Hook do the same? Especially if a new foe comes to town? Focuses on OutlawQueen and CaptainSwan primarily. Disclaimer- We do not own anything.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This is also posted on ff.net by my co-auther: charmed1twenty4. She doesn't have an AO3 account so I'm posting it on here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
Regina was downstairs cleaning up the kitchen. So much had happened in the month since Emma had sacrificed herself and became The Dark One.To start Robin and Roland had moved in. Robin put up a bit of an argument about living in an actual house. Thankfully, Regina was able to convince or probably more accurately bribe him by telling him that he could take the boys camping whenever he wanted. Once they moved in, they fell into a routine with their two sons. It amazed her how quickly they had become one cohesive and loving family. It was like this was how it had always been. Outside of the home things were a bit more complicated.

They had discovered that Zelena had magic remaining, which she had been using to fake her pregnancy. She had just enough to fake an image on the screen during the sonograms, but when she did not start to show Regina had become suspicious and figured it out. It was a relief to Regina that Zelena in fact was not pregnant, but she also felt for Robin knowing that while he hated Zelena, he did essentially lose a child. While he hadn’t been happy about who the child had ultimately conceived with, it was still his baby. It took some time, but Regina had helped him sort through the emotions he felt over the loss. The hardest emotion being his guilt that he was in some ways happy that the pregnancy was fake as it removed something that could be a huge obstacle in his relationship with Regina. Once they knew her pregnancy was faked, Regina and the others had forced Zelena across the town line. Before doing so they made sure she had no magical items that would allow her future passage back across the town line or into any other realms.

Elsewhere in town, Emma, in recent weeks, had to be locked away in a jail cell. She had become a danger to herself and the entire town. Everyone thought it best to lock her away before she could do something truly horrible. Regina knew all too well how hard that could be to come back from. After they had gotten her into the cell, Regina had placed multiple protection spells to contain her. Regina was grateful that to this point Emma had not completely embraced the powers of The Dark One. If she had, the protection spell Regina had placed may not have contained her. While it was similar to the spell placed on the cell that contained Rumple, he did not have magic prior to becoming The Dark One. The full effect of Emma having magic prior to her transformation was yet known.

Everyone else had just been trying to deal with what in some ways was the loss of Emma. The Emma they all knew and loved was gone at this point. Even Henry struggled to visit her. Regina was pretty sure the only thing that was keeping most of their whole odd little family together was trying to remove The Dark One from Emma. They had traveled to Camelot and found Merlin. While Merlin had worked out most of a plan to banish the darkness for good, his plan was still missing a few pieces. The decision was made to return to Storybrooke in order to have access to all of the books and information they had left behind. Merlin had fought the decision initially, but he agreed to return with everyone and assist to finally banish The Dark One. That was what Regina and the rest of Emma’s loved ones spent most days doing. They had almost completed their plan, but they still had one part to figure out. Where they needed to banish the darkness once they contained it. This part of the plan was something Snow and Charming had added in a way to keep anyone from unleashing the darkness ever again. Now they were tasked with finding a land where no one would ever be able to find it, but also one they had a spell they could use to send it there. Regina thought about staying up to continue to work through this problem, but she knew that she would be more useful after a good night’s sleep.

Robin was already upstairs checking on their boys. He had started with Roland who had fallen asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Roland had spent the day with Will and the rest of the Merry Men having all kinds of adventures. The better part of dinner tonight had been spent listening to all the stories Roland had about his day. Robin had watched the boy sleep for a few minutes, glad that he was young enough that they could protect him from most of what had been going on. Henry on the other hand was not so lucky.

Robin stood in the door watching the older boy toss and turn in his sleep. Emma becoming The Dark One had probably been hardest on him. He missed his mother and in typical Henry fashion he had become more overwhelmed with guilt with each passing day that he had not been able to save Emma yet. Robin wanted nothing more than to take away his son’s pain and guilt over all of this. He may be a teenager, but he was still young and deserved to have a normal and happy life. Just as Robin was becoming more lost in thought he felt the arms of his true love wrap around his waist and he instinctively put his arm around her. She then rested her head on his shoulder. She could tell he had been lost in thought. “What were you thinking about?” Regina asked him. “Oh nothing, I just worry about Henry and everything he is going through. I wish I could take on some of the pain for him.” Robin replied. Regina’s heart overflowed with love for this man, he treated her son as his own and his love for him only made her love for Robin grow even stronger. “Do you think they are both down for the night?” Regina asked. “I think so. Henry may be tossing and turning, but he was exhausted before bed. Hopefully he can get at least some restful sleep tonight.” Robin was not completely sure this was true, but he hoped it was. They all needed their rest. Regina looked at the clock and realized it was only 9:30 at night. This was the earliest both boys had been asleep in for a month. She gave Robin a look that immediately let Robin know what was on her mind. She escaped from his embrace and took his hand in hers; leading him to their bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Robin awoke the next morning and realized Regina was no longer sleeping in bed next to him. As he oriented himself and became more aware of his surroundings he realized the shower was on. He looked at the time and saw that it was 7:30 in the morning. Everything in him wanted to join the woman he loved in the shower, but the reality that two hungry boys would be awake any minute stopped him from following through on that idea.

Robin stopped to check on the boys before heading down to start breakfast. Roland was still asleep, but Robin could see he was starting to stir. Next Robin wanted to check on Henry. He knocked on the door knowing the boy was likely up researching lands to banish The Dark One too. He heard Henry say come in and when he opened the door he found the teenager with several books spread out on his bed. “How is the research coming?” Robin was hoping Henry would say he at least had a new lead, something to give the boy some hope. “Nothing yet…” as soon as Henry said this, Robin’s heart had sank. “Henry you are doing everything you can. We will find a way to fix this. You know that right?” Robin thought he needed to say something to his effect. He had noticed the typically hopeful boy had seemed a bit more pessimistic lately. “You don’t know that, it has been two weeks without a new lead and I just keep failing her over and over again.” Henry said choking back tears. “Henry, I need you to listen to me closely right now. You have in no way failed Emma. Do you understand that? You and everyone else are doing all that they can to save her. Sometime soon we will figure this out and save your mother. I promise you, your mother and I will not rest until we save Emma. In the meantime, if you ever need to talk I want you to know I am here.” Robin hoped what he said got through to Henry. “I’m going to go down and start breakfast okay. How do pancakes sound?” Henry shrugged giving Robin the sense that he didn’t care much about what or if he ate.

Regina could smell pancakes being made as she stepped out of the shower. The outfit she planned to wear today was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Once she got dressed, she quickly blow dried her hair and curled it. She then followed that up by her applying her makeup. Usually she enjoyed this time to herself when she could think about everything. This morning unfortunately was different. She could not shake this feeling of guilt. Guilt that she had not saved Emma yet. Guilt that she could not take Henry’s pain away. Guilt that everyone she cared about was looking to her to banish The Dark One and she had been continually failing all of them. Guilt that while she was finally getting everything she ever wanted and more, Emma in turn was losing everything. She even felt guilty about bringing Robin into all of this. She felt Robin’s life had been simpler before she became a part of it. While she knew he loved her and that he wanted nothing more than to be with her and their sons, she still felt guilty for making his life so much more complicated. She tried to push these feelings aside as she headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Upon arriving downstairs, Regina saw the three people she loved most in the world. Roland was happily eating his pancakes, rambling on about his plans for the day in between bites. Henry had his head down and was picking at his food, but at least he was eating. Robin was finishing up cooking the last few pancakes. Regina walked over to him, said “good morning” and gave him a quick kiss and began to walk towards the back counter to get some coffee. This clearly was not enough for Robin; he grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. She kissed him again, this time much deeper as he wrapped one arm around her waist. It was enough to elicit an “Ewwww!” on Henry’s part. Regina rolled her eyes as Robin took his arm from around her waist. Once she finished getting her coffee she turned her attention to Henry, who was still pushing the pancakes around his plate. “You need to eat something. You will be no good to anyone if you pass out from hunger.” Regina told her son. This was enough for him to begrudgingly start eating more of his pancakes. Regina and Robin were both about to sit down and join their sons for breakfast when the doorbell rang.

Regina looked to see who it was and she saw a man who had clearly been through hell in the last month. She opened the front door and Hook immediately entered her home rambling about something, but he wasn’t making much sense. Hook had become a different person in the last month. Sleep had clearly been hard to come by as his eyes had dark circles around them constantly. He was getting skinny and he seemed to have a permanent look of worry and fear on his face. Regina needed him to focus so she could figure out why he was here. “Hook, I need you to slow down and start from the beginning.” Regina said as she led him into the kitchen. Robin offered him some pancakes at which he refused. “So I spent the night at the library with Belle trying to find a realm to banish The Dark One too once we’ve contained it. I think I finally found a realm that will work.” Hook rushed through the explanation. Regina and Robin exchanged hopeful yet nervous looks. Henry on the other hand was about ready to run out the door. Regina went after him and made him return to the kitchen. “Henry, we don’t even know if this will work. I will go with Hook to see Merlin. We will discuss it with him and figure out if this is a feasible option. In the meantime you stay here with Robin and Roland.” Regina was not in the mood to argue, but she could see the look on her son’s face after she finished talking. “There is no way I am staying behind, Emma is my mom and if this will possibly work I am going to be there.” Henry shouted. “Listen, you are going to stay here. If this turns out to be the missing piece to the plan we have been looking for, I will call you. In the meantime I want you to stay here and keep working in case this realm turns out not to be an option.” Regina could tell this time she got through to him. He just wanted to feel like he was helping in some way, they all did. Regina gave Henry a kiss on the forehead and told him she loved him. She then did the same to Roland, who had pretty much tuned out the conversation as he played with a toy he had snuck down to breakfast. She grabbed her keys, poured her coffee into a travel mug, and turned her attention to Robin. “Good luck let me know how it goes and please be careful. I love you.” Robin said knowing Regina needed to get going. “I love you too.” She gave him a quick kiss and was out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hook was already waiting by the car for Regina. This last month had taken its toll on him and he was more than ready for this nightmare to be over. They all were. Regina did not say much on the drive to the sorcerer’s mansion. Merlin had taken up residence there while they worked on the plan. She did ask Hook if he had seen Emma recently. He didn’t say much other than that he had seen her 2 days earlier and she basically threw him out of the sheriff’s station. Emma had initially been able to keep the darkness at bay. She even seemed normal for a while, but over time subtle changes began to occur. Those subtle changes became bigger as the darkness took hold of her. The day that she tried to kill Grumpy for accidentally bumping Henry into a table, they knew it was time to lock her away somewhere she would not hurt anyone. Unfortunately, this only accelerated the darkness taking a hold of her. Anymore she did not want visitors, except, occasionally, Henry who seemed to be the only one who could bring out some of the old Emma, if only for a moment. Regina avoided visiting her unless it was absolutely necessary. Emma’s recent plan when Regina would visit would be to make her feel guilty for locking her up after she saved her life in hopes Regina would release her. Thankfully, Regina was able to resist her pleas knowing it would only make things worse if Emma were free to roam Storybrooke. They arrived at the mansion within 10 minutes.

Regina rang the doorbell and Merlin answered almost immediately. He invited Hook and Regina in after they explained that they thought they finally found a realm to banish The Dark One to. Merlin was a powerful sorcerer who had figured out how to enact spells that would open portals to other realms for a short period of time. Just long enough to get one object through. After some discussion, Merlin agreed that this would work. Regina and Hook both breathed a sigh of relief. Then they started calling the necessary people.

Hook called Snow and Charming to let them know that they finally had a completed plan that they thought would work. Despite promising Henry she would call him, Regina had decided on the ride over that this was a bad idea. She realized that if Merlin thought this would work and they were actually going to try the plan, she wanted Henry as far away from it as possible. If something went wrong, she did not want Henry to be hurt. She also did not want him around if she had to rely on her back up plan. If something went wrong when they removed The Dark One from Emma, she knew they would once again need to tether it to a person. She realized that person needed to be her. As much as it terrified her, she knew she had the best chance at controlling the darkness. She had not even told Robin about her plan, knowing he would object and stop her at all costs.

Regina picked up her cell phone and called Robin. As soon as he answered she told him that Merlin thought it would work and they were going to give it a try. She then explained that she wanted Henry as far away from this plan as possible. She could tell this made Robin uneasy, but he also completely understood that she wanted to keep their son out of harm’s way. Despite wanting to be there to protect Regina, Robin agreed that if he left, it would only raise Henry’s suspicion that something was happening. After yet again telling her to be careful and that he loved her, Robin hung up the phone.

Hook was pacing back and forth waiting for Regina to finish her phone conversation. He knew the risks, but he wanted Emma back. She was his true love and it had been slowly killing him to see the woman he loved change into something so vastly different. Emma always had a touch of darkness to her, but now it had taken hold of almost all of her. It seemed silly to him even as he thought it, but just being able to hold her again would mean the world to him. She had told him she loved him just moments before becoming The Dark One. Hook had known for a while how she felt about him, but to finally hear her say those words meant everything to him. He wanted to hear her say those words over and over. He also wanted to be able to tell her that he loved her too. This had to work. If it did not, Hook was not sure what he would do.

The three of them then headed out to Regina’s car. They did not want to waste any time as Emma grew stronger by the day and it would only make their plan more difficult. Snow and Charming were meeting them at the sheriff’s station. Merlin brought a satchel with him full of everything they needed to complete their plan. As Regina drove she ran through the plan repeatedly in her head. The first part required Regina dropping the protection spell around Emma’s cell. In order to get close enough to Emma, Merlin had a spell he would place on her that would temporarily paralyze her and keep her from being able to use her powers. Merlin would then act quickly to remove The Dark One from Emma. Then as they had previously done, they planned to contain the darkness in the hat. However, this time Merlin had given Regina ancient spells unknown to anyone but him to add extra layers of enchantment. This he told them would contain the darkness in the hat. While Regina did this, Merlin would work on opening the portal to the realm they had chosen. As soon as it opened they would drop it through the portal and Merlin would allow it to close.

Their plan required absolutely everything to go right. If they faltered or acted too slowly, the darkness could escape and once again put the whole town at risk. This is why Regina planned to keep track of the dagger, in case she had to resort to her backup plan.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Everyone arrived at the sheriff’s station at the same time. Regina was not entirely sure what part Snow and Charming would play in the plan, but she knew there was no way they were going to miss this. The same went for Hook. They entered the station and Emma immediately began to yell a variety of cruel things directed at all of them. She wanted to be left alone. Hook did everything he could to ignore the horrible things she was saying and focus on getting her back to the woman she once was. The woman who he had fallen so deeply and madly in love with. This woman was definitely a far cry from who she was just a month ago.

Merlin began to set up everything they needed to carry out their plan. He had the dagger in hand which he would use to remove The Dark One from Emma and quickly open the hat to contain it. Then he placed the hat on the desk closest to Emma’s cell. Lastly, he opened the spell book to the page he needed so he could immediately start opening the portal after he handed the hat off to Regina. While he did this Regina was pacing back and forth worrying about everything that could possibly do wrong with this plan. She also worried about what would happen if she had to carry out her back up plan. A picture of Robin and her two boys flashed in her mind. What would this do to them? Would they be okay without her? Especially Henry who had already watched the darkness overtake one mother. She could not think about that now. She had to focus on doing everything in her power to make sure the plan worked. Snow and Charming were trying to appear hopeful and confident, but the worry and fear was still recognizable in their faces. They had already lost so much time with their daughter and every moment spent without her since the curse broke was excruciating. Hook was watching Merlin like a hawk; not that he could do much to help, but most of the success with this plan rested with him. Only knowing him for such a short time worried Hook a bit. The trust that he had in the other people in the sheriff’s station was something he wish he had in Merlin. He had not given them any reason not to trust him, but when it came to Emma’s future, Hook was a bit more protective. It was time to try the plan. Everyone shared a nervously excited look and then they took their positions.

Regina began to take down the enchantments on the cell one at a time. Once they were down, Merlin immediately paralyzed Emma. Hook then opened the cell so Merlin could get close enough to remove The Dark One from Emma. Merlin held the dagger over Emma’s heart and said the spell they had heard when The Dark One had been removed from Rumple. It was working, their plan was working. Emma collapsed when The Dark One was pulled from her, Hook caught her and slowly lowered her to the floor. He remained there cradling his true love in his arms. Merlin had added something to the original spell that would temporarily tether The Dark One to the dagger. This allowed him time to open the hat. As soon as it opened he sent the Dark One into the hat. He handed the hat to Regina and got to work on the portal. Regina had time to memorize the spells and enchantments Merlin had given her to place on the hat. She worked quickly and was able to contain The Dark One in the hat. Once her part was complete she located the dagger, in case something went wrong. By this time Merlin had opened the portal. Regina immediately threw the hat into the portal, sending it to another realm where no one would ever be able to find it. Merlin allowed the portal to close. The final confirmation that their plan had worked would be if there was no name on the dagger. Regina picked it up and saw that the dagger remained blank and just like that they had finally banished The Dark One.

Regina turned her attention to the unconscious Emma that Hook cradled in his arms. By this point Snow and Charming had rushed to their daughter’s side as well. The hope was that since Emma had only had The Dark One in her for such a short time she would be able to recover quickly once it was removed. Rumple was still in a coma a month after the darkness had been removed from him. However, he had spent far longer and had allowed the darkness to take far more control of him. They checked and were relieved that Emma was still breathing. This was the closest Hook had been to Emma in a month, even though she was unconscious it was great just to be able to hold her again. However, his heart still ached to talk to her again. Just to hear her voice and not have it be the horrible and awful things she had been saying to him recently. Hook picked Emma up in his arms and they planned to take her to the apartment to recover. At this moment a furious Henry burst through into the sheriff’s station.

Regina immediately turned her attention to her son. The fury he had entered the station with had faded to a look of pure terror. “Is she okay? She’s going to be okay right?” he asked. Regina made her way towards him and explained that she no longer was tethered to The Dark One and that she was alive, but unconscious at the moment. This appeared to calm Henry down just a bit. Regina then wrapped him in her arms to try and comfort her son who had been through so much in the last month. Henry pushed away from her, “You promised to call me!” he yelled at her. “I know, I’m sorry. I wanted to keep you safe. If something went wrong, I did not want you to get hurt. You have to understand you are my child and it is my job to protect you. Especially with Emma in her current state.” Regina told him. Henry’s face softened a bit, but he still appeared upset. He then headed over to be at Emma’s side. Regina told herself that he just needed to cool off. It was understandable that he was upset, she had lied to him. Add that to the stress and worry he has endured the last month, he earned himself a bit leeway about being upset with and yelling at her. She just hoped that Emma would wake up and they would get their happy and optimistic boy back.

Hook carried the unconscious Emma to Charming’s truck and placed her inside, climbing into the passenger seat. Charming then got behind the wheel. Regina and the others then got into her car to head to the apartment. At this point, Merlin parted ways with them saying he would be returning to Camelot now. They expressed their gratitude to him and wished him a safe journey home. On the way Regina told Henry to call Robin and let him know what was going on. She told him to let Robin know that the plan had worked and everyone was fine. Well except Emma who remained unconscious. Robin said he would meet them at the apartment with Roland. As she drove it finally sunk in that they had accomplished their plan and she felt like a thousand ton weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Henry may be mad at her and she was still worried about when or if Emma would wake up, but she had confidence in her friend. Emma was strong and would manage to fight through this.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

When they arrived at the apartment, everyone headed upstairs. Hook refusing to leave Emma, again was the one carrying her. He laid her down gently on the bed and then grabbed her hand preparing to stay by her side until she awoke. Snow and Charming checked on Neal who was fast asleep. They then explained to Belle who had stayed with him that their plan had worked. Henry was pacing at the end of the bed, keeping an eye on Emma. Regina did the only thing she felt like she could do, stand by and watched her son, to be there if he needed something. There was a knock on the door and Snow let Robin and Roland in. Roland immediately made his way to Regina and she picked him up in her arms. He asked why Emma was sleeping and why everyone was watching her. Regina looked at Robin as they tried to figure out what to tell the innocent young boy. Robin made his way over and wrapped an arm around Regina. “Emma got hurt and she needs some time to rest and get better.” Robin told their son. “She’s going to be okay?” Roland asked still a bit confused. “We hope so.” Regina told the little boy in her arms. Unfortunately, this was the best Regina could do to comfort the boy. While they were hopeful Emma would be okay, the fact that Rumple still had not woken up made her concerned that this may not turn out the way they hoped.

Just then, Emma began to stir. She was not opening her eyes yet, but at least it appeared she was beginning to wake up. Hook and Henry stayed by her side. Hook’s heart was clearly breaking all over again. This afternoon had given him hope, they actually had managed to remove the darkness from his true love. Now, watching her lay in this bed unconscious it was killing him. Snow and Charming went to the kitchen and began to cook dinner for everyone, but still kept a close eye on their daughter. Regina and Robin sat on the couch and played with Roland. Regina hadn’t realized it was already almost dinner time, she still had not eaten lunch. Somehow though she didn’t think she was hungry. Perhaps it was because she was worried about Emma.

As they sat down for dinner, Hook continued to refuse to leave Emma. Henry only agreed if he could eat while sitting on the bed next to her. There had been little progress for Emma it seemed. She continued to stir and occasionally seemed as if she was having a nightmare, but she still was unconscious. Everyone else gathered around the table to eat. “Regina, we just wanted to thank you for everything you did for our daughter. If it wasn’t for you we would have never gotten her back.” Snow said. “It was the least I could do after the sacrifice she made for me. I just hope it was not all for nothing.” Regina replied. Just as Regina finished talking, Emma began to stir once more.  
This time was different though, she was mumbling in some language none of them could identify. They all got up from the table to see what was happening. As quickly as it had begun, Emma appeared to be unconscious again. Everyone let out a disappointed sigh. Hook leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. He had clearly gotten his hopes up that she might have been waking up. All of the adults were sharing worried and fearful looks when Henry suddenly shouted “Look!”. Emma opened her eyes. At first she seemed completely lost and then it was as if her world came into focus. Then she suddenly sat bolt upright in bed and appeared as if she was trying to catch her breath. “What happened?” Emma asked. Hook and Henry immediately threw their arms around her. “What is the last thing you remember?” Regina asked the newly conscious Emma. “I remember pulling The Dark One out of Rumple. Then the sorcerer saying something about finding Merlin. I think we chased the darkness out into the street and… it attacked Regina. Wait did I become The Dark One?” Emma seemed to have no memory beyond those final moments when she saved Regina. “Yes, that happened a month ago Emma. Do you remember anything since then?” Snow asked her daughter. “How could that have been a month ago? I have no memory of anything after that.” Emma replied to her mother all the while still being hugged on either side by Hook and Henry. Regina was thinking to herself that may actually be a blessing. Emma didn’t remember being The Dark One or anything she did during the last month. Those memories may return with time but maybe it was for the best if she never remembered. They instead turned their attention to celebrating that Emma was back to her normal self. Emma kissed Henry on top of his head and then turned to Hook. “Are you okay? You seem different?” Emma could tell whatever had happened in the last month had taken its toll on the man she loved. “Doesn’t matter now love, I’m just pleased you are back to your old self.” Hook replied before pulling her into a kiss. Hook’s heart was racing, he had her back. He had Emma back, it was everything he had been hoping for since she became The Dark One a month ago. Hook never wanted to let go of her again, but he knew that her parents would likely want to give their daughter a hug. He helped Emma to her feet and she made her way to Snow and Charming. They immediately pulled her into a hug between the three of them, tears streaming down Snow’s face. “So how do you feel?” Charming asked his daughter. “Pretty weak, but mostly I’m just craving a grilled cheese from Granny’s” Emma replied. Everyone in the room let out a small laugh, Emma was definitely back.

Hook, Henry, and Emma joined everyone else at the table to eat dinner now. They had a pleasant family dinner. However everyone avoided questions Emma had about the missing month. It seemed everyone had reached the same conclusion Regina had, it was probably a blessing she did not remember. When dinner was over, Regina helped Snow clean up. Robin, Charming, Roland, and Henry were playing in the living room while Neal sat in his bouncer. Emma sat on the couch watching with Hook’s arm wrapped around her shoulder. She rested her head on his chest. Emma may not have any memory of the last month, but Hook definitely did. He wrapped his arms tightly around her as if he were protecting her. Now that he had her back, he was going to do everything in his power to never lose her again. Once dinner was cleaned up, Regina said it was getting late and they should probably head out. Henry immediately asked if he could stay. Regina had known he would ask and was perfectly fine with him staying with Emma and the Charmings. “If it’s okay with them, then yes you can?” she replied. “He’s always welcome to stay with us.” Snow replied. Regina knew Henry needed to spend time with his other mother. He had lost even more time than he already had and she knew that while she would miss him this was what was best for her son. Everyone said their goodbyes and Robin picked Roland up to carry him out to the car. Emma stopped Regina on the way out. “Hey, I know that if The Dark One had to be removed from me you definitely played a huge part in saving me. I just wanted to say thank you.” Emma said to Regina. “It was the least I could do. You saved me first remember.” Regina replied. “Yeah I guess I kind of did, but still thank you.” Emma responded. The two women then exchanged a hug. They had never done that before and it was a bit odd, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

When Regina got to the car, Robin was fastening Roland into his booster seat. Robin and Roland had walked to the apartment since Robin had yet to learn to drive. Regina got in on the driver’s side, just as Robin was climbing into the passenger seat. Regina started the car and put it into drive. Roland fell asleep within moments. They did not say anything to each other the whole ride home. Robin merely took Regina’s hand in his and held onto it the whole way home.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After everyone had left, Snow and Charming both said goodnight to their daughter sneaking in a quick hug in the process. Snow grabbed Neal before the three of them headed up to bed. She kissed Henry on top of the head on her way by and said goodnight to him as well. “Goodnight to you too Hook.” Snow said which caused Charming to roll his eyes and at least wave to the pirate. Charming ruffled Henry’s hair as he walked by and followed Snow to bed.

Emma turned to Henry “I think you should be heading to bed soon too.” “But Mom! I just got you back and we have so much to catch up on and do.” Henry replied. “There will be plenty of time for that tomorrow.” Emma said, she knew her son most likely had spent many a late night trying to find a way to save her and he needed the rest. Henry dropped his head and slowly walked off to bed after giving her a hug, leaving only Emma and Hook sitting on the couch. “Well my love, I guess it is time I should get going.” Hook said as he got up to leave. “No. Please stay, I may not have my memories but I have this overwhelming feeling of missing you.” Emma replied showing her vulnerability for the first time in weeks. “Won’t that be awkward? I mean the apartment is rather crowded tonight?” Hook asked secretly hoping that she wouldn’t change her mind. Emma merely took his hand and led him to the bed where she had laid unconscious just a few short hours ago.

They both laid down in bed and Emma immediately curled up in Hook’s arms. She kissed him briefly and innocently on the lips before resting her head on his chest. Hook felt at peace for the first time in a month, he could stay like this forever just holding his true love in his arms. It took a matter of 30 seconds for them to both fall fast asleep.

A few hours later, Emma awoke sweating and shaking slightly due to the nightmare she just had. She sat up in bed which caused Hook to wake up as well. “What’s wrong, love?” Hook asked her. “Nothing just a nightmare.” Emma was short with him even though she didn’t mean to be. “Come on Swan, I can tell whatever it was clearly has you shaken. You still look completely terrified.” Hook encouraged her to open up to him as he wrapped a reassuring arm around her waist. Emma took a deep breath before explaining her nightmare. “I am pretty sure it was a memory of a former Dark One. It wasn’t myself or Rumple so I am not sure who it was. All I know is it was horrible. They tortured and killed every single person in the entire village. The entire time I sensed that whoever it was, greatly enjoyed themselves. They even were laughing as they were doing it. I didn’t hurt anyone did I?” Emma asked once she finished her story. “No my love, we locked you in a cell at the sheriff’s station as soon as we noticed you were becoming a danger.” Hook kept this brief because while she physically did not hurt anybody, she had said some pretty horrible and hurtful things to the people around her. He wanted to avoid those memories coming back as he knew they would leave her racked with guilt. They all knew it wasn’t her and didn’t blame her for a minute, but he knew she wouldn’t see it that way. After spending the month feeling rather useless to help her most of the time, Hook wanted to protect her as much as possible. Despite only sleeping for a few hours, Hook felt more rested than he had in a long time. “So what else happened during this last month?” Emma asked. 

They spent the next few hours talking while wrapped up in each other’s arms. Hook told her about the few things he did outside of trying to help her, which was very little. Then he told her modified versions of the visits he would have with her. He did not want her to know about the things she had said to him during their visits. They would sneak in the occasional kiss before returning to their conversation. Before they knew it the sun was coming up and they could hear Neal crying. Unfortunately they were not fast enough at getting out of bed before Charming came down the stairs carrying Neal.

Charming went into full on protective dad mode. “Did he spend the night?” he said almost shouting. "Oh come on Dad, all we did was sleep. We both missed each other and weren’t ready to not be around each other yet.” Emma replied to her father. Emma then mumbled under her breath that she really needed to find her own place. It was only loud enough that Hook had heard her and it took everything in him to not react. He figured that would only end up making David even angrier. At this point Snow came down as well and she could see she walked into a tense situation. “Did you know about this?” David asked his wife. Snow had a guilty look on her face “I may have seen them sleeping when I came down in the middle of the night to get some water”. David looked like his head might explode. “Oh come on David, it was completely innocent and she is an adult after all.” Snow said to her husband in hopes of getting him to come around. While Charming now trusted Hook, he still did not like the idea of him sleeping in the same bed as his daughter. He decided to drop the subject although he would be keeping a much closer eye on them from now on. “What do you say we all get ready and head to Granny’s for breakfast?” Snow asked the group. “Sounds good to me.” a sleepy Henry responded to the question. This would also allow them to let everyone know that they had banished The Dark One and Emma was back to normal.

Meanwhile, Robin and Regina had quite an interesting night. Roland had fallen asleep in the car and did not wake up after that. Regina gave Roland a quick kiss on the cheek before Robin carried him to bed. The boy had barely even stirred the whole way to his room. Robin kissed their son on the head before closing his bedroom door. Then he headed for his and Regina’s room.

She had just finished getting ready for bed when he entered the room. Robin’s heart skipped a beat as it often did when he saw Regina. He could not believe how much he loved her. While he had loved Marian and a part of him always would, it paled in comparison to the love that he had for Regina. He made his way towards her and took her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and enjoyed the feeling of safety that came with being by her true love. It still amazed Regina that she got butterflies in her stomach every time she was with him. They stayed this way for a few minutes without saying anything, just enjoying the calm moment they had to just hold each other. Then he kissed her, it was short and sweet but he wanted to see how she reacted. He knew it had been a long day and would not blame her if she just wanted to sleep. She immediately kissed him back this time longer and deeper than before. This told him that she wanted more. They made love twice that night before curling up in each other’s arms to sleep.

Instead of sleep they spent the next hour talking. Regina filled him in on what he had missed during the day. The whole time Robin found himself holding Regina a bit tighter than usual. He knew why he was doing this. He had come very close to losing her multiple times in the last month and the thought of this almost paralyzed him with fear. After everything he had been through, he knew how quickly you can lose the people you love. He wanted nothing more than to hold her close and keep her safe forever. When she had called earlier and told him to stay with their boys, it took everything in him to not race to her side to protect her. Unfortunately, he understood that at the end of the day she was the one with powers. While there were many things he could protect her from, when it came to magic she had to be the one doing the protecting. Regina could tell that Robin had zoned out while she was talking. “Are you okay?” she asked him. “Yeah, just thinking about everything that has happened the last month. It’s been a bit scary. Well, terrifying is far more accurate. I have come far too close to losing you so many times in the last month. I don’t know what I would do if I ever lost you. And today when you asked me to stay with the boys, I felt so helpless. All I wanted to do was race to your side and keep you safe.” Robin originally did not plan on telling her all of this, but they had prided themselves on being honest with each other. He realized that he also had teared up a bit while he was saying all of this to her. “I’m sorry that I put you through all of that. While we’re being honest about our feelings, I guess it’s only fair that I tell you how guilty I have been feeling. I dragged you and your son into this complicated and sometimes dangerous life. I love you both so much and I want nothing more than to be with you forever, but sometimes I wonder if you would be better off without all of the added stress I bring into your life. You and Roland have been through so much already. I could not bear adding to that if something did ever happen to me.” Regina told him and by the time she finished telling him all of this, she was crying as well. Robin wiped away her tears and kissed the top of her head. “There is nothing to apologize for and do not even for one second think we would be better off without you. You have made our lives so much better since we’ve been together. I can’t imagine my life without you and our two boys now. While I may worry a bit…okay a lot more than I did before, the good far outweighs the bad if you can even call it that. I love you and our life together and I would not trade it for anything in the world.” Robin wanted to be sure she understood what he just said. She had no reason to feel guilty. Regina leaned into him and kissed him, before resting her head on his chest. She could hear the slow, steady beat of his heart. This had become one of the most soothing and calming sounds to her. In this moment she found herself completely content.

They switched their conversations to lighter topics after that, like their plans for tomorrow. The idea of not spending most of their day trying to figure out how to save Emma left them both feeling a bit lost. Both of them had been so focused on this task for the last month that they almost forgot how to go about their normal day to day lives. To be fair before all of this happened they had just been getting back to a sense of normalcy after they had come back from New York. They got as far as deciding they would go to Granny’s for breakfast before they both fell sound asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Regina, Robin, and Roland arrived at Granny’s pretty early the next morning and found a booth to sit at. Both parents were exhausted, but in a good way. This was the most relaxed they had both felt in what seemed like forever. Roland had woken them both up just after sunrise. So after they all had gotten ready they headed out for breakfast. Ruby came over to take their order as the door to the diner opened, “Emma!” Ruby yells running over to her friend to give her a big hug. Everyone stared at Emma and Ruby, paying no attention to any of her companions that walked in with her. “I’m so happy you’re back. It hasn’t been the same around here without you,” Ruby says quietly. “Ruby, how did you know it was me and the Dark One wasn’t still in me?” Emma asks. “Your scent is different than it was when you were the Dark One. You’re back to smelling like yourself.” Ruby replied. Killian leans close to Emma whispering, “And what a lovely smell that is, love,” before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. 

It seemed like there were a million eyes on Emma, Ruby and Killian. Some just appeared to be unsure and confused, while others appeared down right scared. While she had not actually hurt anyone, rumors had spread of what she had threatened to do while she was locked away in the cell. Some of the rumors were true, while others were simply just rumors. The first person to jump to her defense was Regina. “Listen everyone. Yesterday afternoon we removed The Dark One from Emma. We then banished it somewhere that it can never hurt anyone again. Emma is back to her normal self. So stop looking at her like she might snap her fingers and kill you all and go about your normal business.” Regina finished speaking and everyone returned to what they were doing. What she said may have been blunt, but effective and that’s all that mattered at this point.

Henry came over and hugged Regina, followed by Robin and Roland. He was the happiest they had seen him in a while. Roland had missed Henry. Since Robin and Regina had gotten back together the two became just like any other siblings. They were buddies one minute and the next they were fighting about something. Henry despite being distracted by everything with Emma, had actually become a great older brother. Roland immediately started telling him about everything that had happened since they left the apartment last night, which wasn’t much. Then Roland asked if he would color with him. Henry agreed immediately, he had missed Roland too.

While all of this was going on the rest of the group pulled a table over to the booth Regina, Robin, and Roland had been sitting in. This group had been through so much together that at this point they embraced their weird family unit. The betrayals of the past seemed to be distant memories at this point. Once everyone settled in, Ruby took all of their orders. They spent the rest of breakfast having conversations with each other about everything and anything. Emma took this time to look at the people she cared about most. She wanted to get a sense for what her becoming The Dark One had done to them. She had decided that from the way they looked, Hook and Henry had the roughest time with it. Everyone else just seemed more tired than usual. She felt slightly guilty for putting all of them through this. If any of them blamed her for anything that happened, they clearly were not showing it. Now she just wished she could remember what had happened.

“So Emma, how does it feel to no longer be tethered to the Dark One?” Robin asked, breaking Emma away from her thoughts. “Pretty good. I just wish I could remember more of what happened. I hate that I am missing an entire month of my life. Even if it probably wasn’t the best month.” Emma replied. “We’re just glad to have you back mom.” Henry told her. Hook took hold of her hand interlacing their fingers, “I have to second what the young lad just said. You were definitely missed Swan. Well the real you anyway.” he told her. Emma smiled at Hook. It was nice to know she had been missed. “Just next time you come up with an idiot plan like becoming the Dark One maybe think about it a little more before actually doing it.” Regina told her, shooting a smirk her way. “Hey! I was trying to save you remember.” Emma replied. “Yes and I appreciate it more than you know. It still does not change the fact that the plan was crazy and fairly stupid. I am just asking for all of our sakes to think these things through a bit more next time.” Regina responded. She could never thank Emma enough for what she did, but she also wanted to ensure that Emma understood how stupid and dangerous what she did was. Some of her concern was actually for Emma because they had actually formed a strange, but rather close friendship. However, more importantly she was concerned about the well-being of their son and the adverse effects this plan had on him.

Once they had finished they all began to head off to start their days. Regina decided she needed to head to her office. She had done the bare minimum to keep the town running the last month and she needed to start catching up. Robin was taking Roland to the park and that was as far as they had planned for their day. Regina gave Roland a hug and a kiss before the boy started running off excited to go to the park. Robin kissed Regina and told her he’d see her later before running after their son, waving goodbye to everyone else as he left. Regina gave Henry a quick hug before she left for her office. They had decided he would stay with Emma for a while longer to give them more time together. Eventually they would have to figure out a more permanent schedule.

David was heading to the sheriff’s station for work, they decided Emma could use a few days off before coming back to work. Thankfully, if he needed more help, with Emma off, he could call Hook and Robin. They had recently been made deputies since they basically had been doing the work of one for quite some time now. David kissed Snow and Neal before heading over to Emma to give her a hug as he went past Henry he ruffled his hair and said a quick bye to Hook . Snow was planning on taking Neal back to the apartment while she worked on her lesson plans. Though the school year didn’t start for another month and a half she knew that if she did not start now some crisis would happen and they would never get done. Now that the only people left were Emma, Hook, and Henry she decided it was time to let them in on her plan.

“Henry, if I tell you something you need to promise that you don’t tell anyone especially your grandmother. Can you do that kid?” Emma asks her son after everyone had left Granny’s. “Of course I can, Mom. What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Henry looks up at her from the book he has laying in front of him. “After what happened this morning I decided there was no time like the present to start looking for our own place to live.” Emma tells her son looking between he and Killian. “I want you and Hook to go with me. This way I can find the perfect place.”


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
Hey, YankeeGirl27 here. I am so glad you guys are liking the fic so far. When charmed1twenty4 asked me to co-author this with her I was a little worried. It has been awhile since I have actually had to sit and write something. I usually just dabble in writing for fun and have started a few fics that I never posted. I have outlined even more but just have not had the time to write them. When she brought this up to me though I knew it was one I would love to take on mainly because I love OUAT and CaptainSwan. Don’t get me wrong I love OutlawQueen too; CS just happens to be my favorite. We have been friend for 6 years, roommates for 2 of those but are now living 12 hrs apart. Yes, we talk all the time but this just give us something else to bond over and to talk about aside from our normal lives. This is the first chapter that I wrote and I like it but remember everyone likes constructive criticism so don’t be afraid to tell us what you really think. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

 

After telling Henry and Killian her secret; the three of them sat and looked at houses and apartments for the next hour. They could not decide if they wanted a house or an apartment as it is Storybrooke and their choices are limited. After looking through the classifieds and a short discussion about which ones they liked, they settled on looking at one house and two apartments. They chose to look at the house first. The house was a ranch style with brick front that was right down the street from Regina and Robin. Henry, of course, loved that, as it would be easy to go back and forth between both of his mom’s houses. Killian liked that there was a yard but knew his say was not as important at the moment. He could see in Emma’s face that she wasn’t pleased with it.

“What’s going on in that brain of yours, love?” Killian asked. “Everything is just all wrong about this house.” Emma answered. “it just doesn’t feel like home and even adding mine and Henry’s stuff that won’t change. The color is terrible and it’s just too big, even for a one story house.” “Mom, we can always paint the walls and it’s not that big, it’s only 3 bedrooms,” Henry tells her trying to make his case. “I just don’t like it, okay Henry? Let’s go check out the apartments?” Emma says as she heads out the door to her car.

Once Killian and Henry join her in the car, they head to the first apartment on the list. Without even going inside they all agreed that it was not where Emma and Henry were going to be living because it is one of the run-down buildings in Storybrooke and they don’t want to have to fix up the apartment in order for it to be livable. Heading to the next apartment Emma is starting to wonder if this is too early after being free of the Dark One. If she can handle living on her own or with Henry? If she’s going to have more nightmares? If she’s really ready to leave her parents and baby brother when she just got them back? As if he could sense her internal debate Killian reached his hand over and squeezed her thigh and she gave him a grateful smile. With a quick glance back at Henry to see his smiling face Emma knew she could overcome and do anything with her boys at her side.

As Emma pulled up to the building she could hear and feel Henry getting excited, as he couldn’t stop moving around in the back seat. “You ready to get out Killian?” Emma asked as she saw a smile cross her boyfriend’s face. “Of course, Love,” Killian, says with a light squeeze against her thigh again before opening the door and waiting on Emma to come around. Emma had a feeling her boys would like this place which is why she saved it for last. The apartment was on the third floor and overlooked the water.

It is an equal distance between Regina’s house and her parent’s loft. Walking in the apartment Emma could feel how at home she felt here. When walking in they step into an open floor plan with a spacious kitchen and living room. Walking down the hall there are two bedrooms to the left with bay windows overlooking the water and a bathroom and laundry room to the right; with the master bedroom and bath at the end of the hall. The master bedroom, also, has a large bay window overlooking the water. Off of the living room there is a large terrace that overlooks the water and docks just like the bedrooms.

“Henry, why don’t you go check out the first bedroom and tell me what you think,” Emma says to him without giving anything away. As Henry opened the door he saw that the room was navy blue with a captain’s wheel on the wall along with an anchor. “Mom, why does this room look like it’s already ready to be moved into?” Henry asked getting suspicious. “Because Henry I had this planned before I became the Dark One and knew that you would love this place as much as I do.” Emma tells him and sees a shocked look on Hook’s face. “What does your room look like, Mom?” Henry asked wanting to see the rest of the apartment.

“Well, kid, why don’t we go look?” Emma says as she grabs Killian’s hand and walks with him behind Henry to check out the master suite. When Henry opens the door Emma can’t help but smile because she loves the color she picked; it’s a deep purple, eggplant color. Killian had his arms around Emma when they walked into the room in order to take it all in. “What do you think?” Emma turns and whispers to him while Henry is checking out the master bath. “I think it’s beautiful, love.” Killian whispers back before turning her around and placing a sweet simple kiss to her lips before letting her go. “So, Henry, what do you think?” Emma says looking at her son as he comes out of the bathroom. “I love it, Mom. When can we move in?” Henry gets excited. “In a week, kid, we can move in, in one week,” Emma answers seeing him bursting with excitement. 

As they were walking back into the main part of the apartment Killian’s phone begins to ring; he stops to answer it when he sees that it is Robin calling. “Hello,” he answers, “Okay, I can do that. Yes, I can meet you there.” Killian makes his way back to Emma and Henry who are discussing what they need for the apartment. 

“Hey, Love, I need to go do something. I’ll see you later?” Hook asks before pulling her in for a hug. “Of course, ” Emma says placing an innocent kiss to his lips, “I love you,” she whispers, realizing that it came so naturally to her, even though she had only said it to him once before. The one time she said it was right before she became the Dark One, but she could not help but smile at how much she loved saying it to him. 

“I love you, too. I’ll see you later Henry. Have fun at your other mom’s for dinner,” Killian says starting to walk out the door. “Oh, and Hook,” he pauses, “don’t forget we’re having dinner with my parents,” Emma says with a smirk. “Aye, Love,” Killian, replies before closing the door. As he is walking away he found himself with a huge grin on his face. He loved hearing Emma say, “I love you” because it made him realize how true all of this really was for them and that even after being the Dark One, her feelings for him have not changed. 

Emma and Henry decide to hang around the apartment for another hour figuring out what they need and how to decorate before they left for Emma to drop Henry off at Regina’s. As they pull up in front of the mansion Henry asks, “Mom, are we still keeping it a secret?” “No, kid, you can tell your mom and Robin. Maybe see if they will help on move in day. I’m telling Grandma and Grandpa tonight so I’m glad you won’t be witnessing this crazy dinner I’m about to have,” she says with a chuckle. “I’ll see you later tonight,” Emma tells him as he gets out of the car.

After seeing that Henry got into the house Emma takes a deep breath and heads back to her parent’s apartment. She was hoping they could have had this dinner at Granny’s so it did not get too out of control after the way her dad had acted this morning when he found out Killian had spent the night. She knew that Hook wasn’t looking forward to having this dinner because he knew her parents, especially her dad, would jump to conclusions and think that he would be moving in with Emma and Henry. As Emma is pulling up to the apartment she sees that Hook is sitting outside on the bench waiting on her.

“Hello, Love,” Killian says pulling Emma into a tight hug before pulling back and kissing her like he had been wanting to all day but couldn’t because Henry was with them. 

“Well, hello to you too. I could get used to hellos like that. What are you waiting out here for?” She asked sitting down on the bench waiting on Hook to join her. 

“I didn’t want to face your dad without you after what happened this morning,” he answered. 

“Well, then let’s go get this dinner over with so that we can go get dessert at Granny’s just the two of us and maybe I’ll stay with you at the inn,” Emma says with a smirk, even though she knows that she may be leading him on. Killian, also, knows that neither one of them is ready for that step after being apart for a month while Emma was the Dark One.

Stopping in front of the door Killian pulls Emma in for one more kiss before having to face her parents. “Hey, Mom, where are you?” Emma asks walking through the door. “I was putting your brother down for a nap since he was being cranky. How was your guys’ day with Henry?” Snow asks heading behind the island to continue working on dinner. 

“Need any help, Mom?” Emma offers as she turns to the fridge to grab her and Killian each a beer. “I would love some help, sweetheart.” Snow says with a smile, “Could you please cut the rest of the vegetables up for the salad while I finish the garlic bread and check on the sauce for the spaghetti?”

“Sure, Mom, that sounds like a delicious dinner,” Emma says.

Neal starts crying and since Snow and Emma were both occupied with dinner Killian decided he was going to jump in and help. He went and picked up his girlfriend’s baby brother to soothe him back to sleep. What he did not know was that his girlfriend and her mother were watching him. Emma could not keep her eyes off of Hook and her baby brother. It was making her heart do some crazy things and she could not seem to concentrate on what she was supposed to be doing. 

“Sweetheart, put down the knife before you cut yourself,” Snow interrupts her daughter’s thoughts. “He’s great with him, Em. Have you guys discussed your future yet?”

“Mom, can we not discuss this right now? I’m not ready for any of that yet.” Emma says.

Emma and Snow get back to cooking while they hear Killian humming and singing lullabies to Neal when they all hear the door open. “Well, this is a beautiful sight; my wife and daughter cooking dinner together. I love seeing you two share something, Snow had always dreamed of.” David says before kissing his wife on the cheek and grabbing himself his own beer and taking a seat across from them in order to have a conversation about their days. 

“Hey, where is my son?” David asks realizing that Neal is nowhere in the room with his wife and daughter. “Oh I put him down for a nap,” Snow answers without telling him that Hook is currently rocking him and keeping him asleep. “Okay and why is there an open beer on the counter when Emma already has one and I know you won’t drink it, honey?” Charming asks this time. Snow sneaks a peek at Emma. Emma says, “Dad, Killian is here and he is in with Neal because he was crying so Hook decided to help out and rock him since Mom and I were cooking.”

At this Killian comes out of the room with Neal passed out sleeping in his arms. “Oh, hello, mate” Killian says to David as he takes his seat at the counter slowly readjusting the baby in his arm with the hook so that he can still drink his beer and converse with everyone else. He catches Emma staring at him and sends her a wink before seeing her break into a blush. The timer dings and they all sit down for dinner; Killian still holding Neal.

“Dad, Mom, the reason I wanted to have dinner tonight is because I want to tell you both something and ask you something.” Emma starts off, “Henry and I will be moving out and moving into an apartment of our own.” 

“There’s no way you will be doing that!” David burst throwing his fork to his plate. “Charming, calm down. Emma, we may not want you to move out but we will support you in whatever decision you choose to make” Snow cuts in. 

“I’m glad you said that Mom because we could use some help moving next week if you are both willing to help?” Emma asked. “He better not be moving in with you!” David exclaims. “Dad, would you please calm down! For one, he has a name and you know it. You seem to think that you can be friends with him when it’s convenient for you but when he’s my boyfriend, he no longer has a name to you. You can’t get mad at me for being an adult. And for the record Killian isn’t moving in with Henry and I! Neither of us are ready for that step in our relationship especially since I was locked in a cell for a month! It put our relationship on pause, and we are taking it slow for now.” Emma all but yells at her dad before grabbing her baby brother from her boyfriend and giving him a kiss on the head before passing him off to her mother and thanking her for dinner but telling her that she and Killian were going to go.

“Swan, slow down!” Killian says making Emma pause on the sidewalk and wait for him. “Everything will work out fine, Love, don’t worry about what happened at dinner.” Emma grabbed his hand and they slowly walked toward Granny’s both lost in their thoughts. After a few minutes of walking in silence Emma finally asks, “Killian, can we please just go back to your room? I just want to lay in your arms and sleep.” “I think that sounds like the best plan I have heard all evening, Love,” Killian responds.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Regina entered her office and was immediately overwhelmed by everything she knew she had to do. She had let her mayoral duties get away from her and she did not even know where to start. While she did the bare minimum to get by during the last month, the only things she really took care of were the time sensitive things. She had figured everything else could wait, after all she was in some ways carrying out her duties as mayor by keeping the town safe from Emma. She sat down at her desk and began to sort through all the folders and paperwork. After looking through the piles quickly, she decided to start at the bottom and take care of things that were already a month old. Three hours later, the piles had a very small dent taken out of them. She quickly realized it was probably going to be a late night for her and she should call Robin to let him know.

Robin was sitting on a bench at the park watching Roland play on the jungle gym. He had been lost in thought for a while. The young boy turned to wave to his father, bringing Robin back to reality and he waved back to his son. As he was waving to his son he heard his cell phone ringing. He looked to see who was calling and saw that it was Regina. He picked up the phone “Hello love, how is your day going?”. “Busy, I have a lot of work to do so I will probably be home late. I’ll try to be home for dinner though because Henry was planning on coming over.” Regina replied. “Okay that’s fine, anything in particular you want for dinner?” Robin asked her. “Whatever you feel like making is great. I’m sure I will be starving by the time I get home. I have to go though, I have so much work to do if I want to get home at all tonight. I love you.” Regina said. “I love you too.” Robin replied before hanging up the phone.

He went back to what he had been thinking about before Roland had waved to him. After the conversations he had with Regina last night, it got him thinking a lot about their future together. They had both expressed their desire to spend the rest of their lives together a lot recently. Everything was going well with their relationship and they had really come into their own as a family. This had made Robin start thinking about proposing to Regina. They had not specifically discussed marriage, but he thought from their conversations that they were likely on the same pagthought he decided it would be easier without Roland tagging along. As much as he wanted to share this happy time with his son, he knew the boy could not keep a secret. Robin called Little John and asked him if he and the rest of the Merry Men could look after Roland for the day. Little John agreed immediately and Robin said he would drop the boy off in about a half hour. The next phone call Robin had to make was to Hook.

Robin and Hook had become very close during the last month. If hee. In order to propose he would obviously need a ring. He realized that with Regina working late, this might be the best day he had to go look for the perfect ring. He also wanted to find time to talk with Henry and get his blessing. After some was going ring shopping, then he wanted Hook to come along and help him decide. Hook answered on the third ring. “Hook, I need you to not let anyone know you are talking to me or what we are talking about. Okay?” Robin said immediately. “Okay I can do that.” Hook responded. “I need your help with something, can you meet me at the jeweler’s in about 45 minutes?” Robin told him. “Yes I can meet you there.” he could tell that Hook wanted to say something more, but thankfully the pirate remembered that Robin told him he did not want anyone to know what they were talking about. Robin hung up the phone and grabbed Roland.

When Robin saw Hook standing outside the jeweler’s he could tell the man was about to bust. “I’m guessing there is only one reason you would call me here, mate. You want to propose to Regina.” Hook said as soon as Robin approached him. “Yes I do and I wanted your help choosing a ring. You have to keep this between us though. I’m not even talking to Henry about it till tonight.” Robin replied. Hook nodded in understanding and they headed into the store. Robin had a decent amount of money left from the time in New York. It was plenty to afford a beautiful ring befitting of his queen. Robin was overwhelmed with all of the choices they had in the store. He did not even know where to start looking. Thankfully one of the sales associates in the store approached and asked if he needed some help. “I’m looking for an engagement ring.” Robin said, trying to stop his head from spinning. Hook could see the look on his friend’s face and gave him a reassuring pat on the back. “Do you know what kind of ring you are looking for?” the associate asked. “I honestly don’t even know where to start.” Robin replied. “Okay well let’s start with the type of metal you want and go from there.” the associate said, giving Robin a reassuring look.

An hour and a half later, Robin had finally found THE ring. Hook agreed that it was perfect for Regina. Robin had decided on a white gold ring. There was a large round cut diamond in the center with two other smaller round cut diamonds on either side. The band started as two thinner bands on either side of the diamonds that blended into a singular thicker band. All of the bands were diamond encrusted. It was perfect. “How soon can it be ready?” Robin asked. “We need a couple days to size it and then you can pick it up. We’ll give you a call when it’s ready.” the associate replied. “Perfect, thank you for all your help.” Robin replied. He walked out of the store with Hook following behind him. Once outside he turned to face Hook. “Thank you for all your help today. I’m sure this was not part of your plan for today. I owe you big time.” Robin said to Hook. “No problem, mate. If I ever decide to go ring shopping myself, you’ll be the first person I call.” Hook answered. The two men said goodbye and headed off in opposite directions.

Robin arrived home just as Little John was dropping Roland off. He thanked Little John and led his son into the house. He had this constant feeling of excitement ever since he had chosen the ring. After setting Roland up in the living room with a movie and some toys, Robin headed to the kitchen to start dinner. He decided to keep dinner simple, baked chicken with a side of rice and vegetables. It was 7 o’clock when Emma was dropping Henry off. Soon after Regina came home with a stack of folders in her arms. “Dinner’s ready my love.” Robin said as Regina was heading for her study. “Let me just set these down and I’ll be right there.” Regina replied. When she came into the kitchen she kissed Robin before turning to give both their boys kisses on top of their heads. The two parents then sat down with their boys to eat. “How was your day?” Robin asked. “Very busy and I had to bring some stuff home with me. It’s going to take me a while to catch up.” Regina replied. “I missed you today Mama.” Roland said. “I missed you too, sweetie.” Regina replied, smiling at the adorable little boy sitting next to her. Regina turned towards Henry. “So what have you and Emma been up to?” she asked her son. “Not much, just watching some movies and catching up on everything she missed while she was…not herself. I did tell her about me getting straight A’s on my last report card. She was very excited about that. Then today we found mom her own apartment.” Henry told everyone. “Wait a minute. The apartment is in Storybrooke right?” Regina asked nervously. Henry nodded his head, allowing Regina to relax. While her and Emma’s friendship had greatly improved since the blonde had first returned from New York with Henry, certain topics, including this one still made Regina a bit uneasy. “Oh, that’s exciting then. When do you guys move in?” Regina asked, now genuinely excited for her friend. “In a week. I think mom was also hoping to have your guys help with moving in.” Henry replied with a shrug. “Of course we’d be happy to help.” Robin answered. When dinner was over Henry offered to help Robin clean up so his mom could get back to work. Regina agreed and headed for her study. Roland sat at the counter, pretending like he was helping too.

Once dinner was cleaned up Henry and Roland played in the living room for a little bit before Henry offered to take his younger brother up to bed and read him a story. Robin took this time to go check on Regina. “How’s it going in here?” he asked when he entered the study. Regina sighed “Slow, but at least I feel like I’m starting to make a dent in the pile. Too bad there’s a pile 20 times this size back in my office.” Regina told him. “Why don’t I walk Henry back to Emma’s? That way you can keep working.” Robin asked. “That would be lovely, thank you so much!” Regina replied. Robin gave her a quick kiss on the cheek “I’m sure I can find some way for you to make it up to me later.” he joked, winking at her before walking out the door of the study.

He walked into Roland’s room and saw the two boys curled up in Roland’s bed, Henry reading him a story from the storybook. “Time for bed Roland. Henry, I’m going to walk you back to the apartment so your mom can keep working.” Robin told the boys. Roland yawned while complaining he did not want Henry to leave. Henry gave his younger brother a hug and told him that he would see him tomorrow.

Robin and Henry chatted about a bunch of random stuff as they started heading for the apartment. “So, Henry part of the reason I wanted to walk you home was that I had something to talk to you about.” Robin said. “Okay…what do you want to talk about?” Henry said unsure about what this was about. “Well your mom and I have been together for a while now and things have been going really well. We both have talked about wanting to spend the rest of our lives together. How would you feel about me asking your mom to marry me?” Robin asked, looking at Henry to see what his reaction was. “Wait are you serious? I think that would be awesome! You have made mom so happy. Plus, Roland makes a pretty cool little brother.” Henry looked like he was about to jump out of his skin with excitement. “So when are you going to ask her?” Henry asked. “I’m not sure buddy. I just picked out the ring today. Sometime soon though.” Robin replied. “Okay, as long as I can be there for it.” Henry said. “Of course you can be there. I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Robin answered, relieved at how excited Henry was about all of this. A few minutes later they arrived at the apartment, Robin had sworn the boy to secrecy. Henry gave Robin a hug and then headed inside.

By the time Robin arrived back home, he found Roland was fast asleep in bed. He then went back downstairs to check on Regina. He found her with her head down asleep on her desk. Robin gently picked Regina up and carried her upstairs to their bed. Regina had wrapped her arms around him on the way up the stairs before falling back to sleep. He pulled down the sheets and laid his love down in their bed. Then he tucked her under the comforter and crawled into bed next to her. He kissed her on the cheek while rolling over and placing his arm around the sleeping Regina. She cuddled up closer to him and wrapped one of her arms over Robin’s arm around her without waking up. Robin felt so content knowing that he had a ring and Henry’s approval to move forward with their engagement. He was so excited that it took him some time to fall asleep. He spent this time awake watching the woman he loved sleep, thinking about how lucky he was to have found her. After everything they had been through both together and apart, it was a miracle they were here together right now. Robin was incredibly thankful for this miracle as he watched Regina peacefully sleeping in his arms, his heart overflowing with love for this woman. Around midnight he finally drifted off to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 

Emma woke up in Killian’s arms, excited that it was moving day. For the past week Emma and David had only spoken in passing when Emma would stop by to get clothes or pack up some more of her stuff for the move. Killian had not been back to the apartment since the dinner, even though he has tried numerous times to have a conversation with David at the sheriff’s station. David didn’t want to talk to him about his daughter since he was being stubborn and didn’t want to admit he was wrong. As if Killian could hear Emma’s brain working through everything with her father and what needs to be done that day, he kisses her neck whispering, “Good morning, love.” Emma rolls over to snuggle into his arms as close as possible before kissing his neck trying to get even closer. “Love, I don’t think there is any other way for us to get closer together,” Hook chuckles rubbing his hand up and down Emma’s back. “Swan, we need to get up and start getting ready to meet everyone downstairs at the diner.” Killian tries to get out of her arms, giving her a quick kiss before he is finally able to extract himself from Emma’s arms. 

Even though Emma and Killian slept in, laid in bed cuddling and both took showers they were still the first one’s to arrive in the diner not long before Regina, Robin, and the two boys. Since Emma had not been staying at her parent’s the past week Henry could not stay with her even though he still wanted to since he did not have her around for a month. “Mom!” Henry yells at the same time Roland yells “Uncle Killian!” running over to hug them both. “Good morning Emma, Killian,” said Robin as he and Regina joined the foursome. “Good morning,” they reply. As they waited on the Charmings, they discussed how things were going between Emma and David while the two boys sat at the table next to them playing and coloring so that Roland did not know what was going on. All conversation about the topic ceased as David and Mary Margaret walked into Granny’s with Neal.

As Snow passed Neal off to Killian, David said, “Emma, sweetheart, could your mom and I speak to you, please?” Without saying a word Emma slid out of the booth and followed her parents out of Granny’s in order to have this conversation in private. “So, what’s up?” Emma asked taking a seat at one of the tables. Without saying a work David sits down across from her before Snow nudges him to speak to his daughter. “Emma, I’m sorry for the way I acted. I need to remember that you are a grown woman and you can take care of yourself. I need to trust that you know where you want your relationship with Killian to go. I, also, know that because of your superpower you know that I’m telling you the truth. I trust you Emma; but it’s hard for me to get over the fact that I didn’t get to be the over-protective dad when you were growing up and now it’s too late. I’m sorry,” David finishes before dropping his head to his hands. “Dad, I love that you are protective but you’re right. I do know where and how fast I want this relationship to go. I love Killian. I do, Dad, and if what Mom says is true and he is my true love you need to learn to like him for that too and not just as your friend; can you do that?” she asks with a plea of desperation in her voice. “Yes, I can,” David responds standing up, “now lets go inside and eat so we can get you and Henry all moved in.” 

Once inside Emma gives Hook a quick nod that things are okay before sitting down and taking her baby brother from him. He had been playing with Neal and feeding him not realizing that Regina and Robin had been eyeing him the whole time on how he was with Neal. He loved his girlfriend’s baby brother just as much as he loved Emma and Henry. After eating and discussing logistics for the day they all headed out minus Snow, to the Charmings’ to get the boxes that needed to be moved. Snow and Neal headed straight to Emma’s new apartment to be there when the furniture Henry and Emma had picked out arrived. The rest of the group arrived at the apartment at the same time as the furniture truck. Instead of having the guys carry it all the way up to the third floor Regina and Emma decide to just use their magic to transport it where it needs to go. Henry gives everyone a tour of the place before they get to the unpacking. Emma and Killian working on the master suite; Henry and Roland work on Henry’s room; David and Snow and Regina and Robin work on the kitchen and living room, respectively, while Neal was taking his mid morning nap in the guest room. 

“Swan, what did you and your parent’s talk about?” Killian asks while hanging her clothes in the closet. “Dad just apologized for the way he acted that morning when he caught us getting out of bed together and how he reacted to me moving out. Things are okay but he’s still going to be a bit tense about us, I think,” Emma answers as she finishes making up the bed wishing that she didn’t have to worry so much about how your father felt about her relationship. “Closet is complete, love, lets work on your dresser together,” he says picking up a box that seems too light to be clothes. Sitting the box down and opening it Hook comes in contact with Emma’s undergarments and lingerie. Pulling out a bright red teddy with black lace around the trim he cannot help but notice the price tag is still on it as he peeks a glance over at his love before looking back at the teddy, picturing it on her in his mind. “Killian, what are you doing?” Emma exclaims breaking him out of his thoughts and grabbing the lingerie from him. “Go get a different box. I’ll do this one, thank you very much.” She can’t believe it; he was picturing her in that teddy. Emma now wished she had grabbed that box and hid it before he saw what was in it. She had been able to pack it without anyone knowing she had enough to fill an entire box but now the secret was out. 

Killian smirks at Emma before giving her a long breathtaking kiss and grabbing a new box. While grabbing another box he takes note of which drawer Emma’s box is going into for future reference. He hoped that future was sooner rather than later but he did not want to push Emma into that step after they spend a month apart because of having the Dark One inside her. He, then, asks which drawer she would like her pants to go into joining her on the floor chatting and steal little kisses as they continued to unpack boxes. As lunch time rolled around they decided to order a couple of pizzas and took a much needed break. They all sat in the living room eating and they watched as Roland was trying to get Neal to play with him. Neal wanted nothing to do with it though and kept walking away from him. At one point though he went over and almost tackling Roland which sent all the adults into laughter. Henry joined his little brother and uncle on the floor and started tickling them both to get the laughter to continue. As they watched the boys all of the adults decided to let the three of them continue to play while they tackled putting last minute touches on the unpacking and they had it complete by 5 o’clock since Henry kept Roland and Neal occupied. 

“I have a question,” Henry says breaking everyone out of their thoughts as they are lounging in the living room, “I was wondering if we could start doing weekly family dinner and game nights with just the nine of us?” Snow suddenly has a giant smile on her face, clapping her hands together exclaiming, “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Henry!” Everyone nods in agreement and since they spent all day unpacking they agree to all get cleaned up and meet at Granny’s for dinner at 6:30. Henry went into his room to get cleaned up while Emma went into her room and Killian decided to follow her. “Love, how are you feeling? I know it’s been a crazy day,” he asks as Emma pulls out a set of clean clothes from the drawers and closet. “I’m good Killian, I promise. I feel great and I have the most amazing family and an okay boyfriend,” she winks at him as she pulls her shirt off only to replace it with a fresh clean one before tossing Hook one of his shirts that Emma had stolen from him. As he pulled off his shirt Emma can’t help but stare at his bare chest that has a dusting of dark brown hair. He had kept covered since they got her back from the Dark One’s curse even sleeping with a shirt on which he never used to do. She could not help but want to see him shirtless more often; Emma just wasn’t sure if she was ready to have him so close to her when he was. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep her hands to herself and she wasn’t ready for their relationship to go any farther just yet. Henry knocked on the door pulling Emma out of her thoughts as Killian finished pulling on his shirt telling them that they needed to go if they weren’t going to be late.

At Granny’s the men sat talking about random things, while Snow held a sleeping Neal and played a Jake and the Neverland Pirates memory game that Roland had brought with him so he did not get bored. Emma and Regina sat across from each other watching their family happily. “So, Emma, now that you have your own place I think we should set up a regular schedule of when Henry will be staying with who and when,” Regina says breaking Emma out of her thoughts as she is staring at Henry. “I think that is a great idea. Thank you for continuing to let me be a part of his life,” Emma smiles, “What do you think the schedule should be?” she asks Regina. “I was thinking that if Henry is okay with it he can switch off each week after family dinner and then random nights when we both may want alone time with our respective partners. How does that sound to you?” Regina suggests. “I like it,” Henry chimes in when neither thought he was listening. “I guess that settles that. It’s getting late we should get Roland home and to bed, Robin,” Regina says as she nods her head to the little boy sleeping in the corner of the booth, “So, Henry where are you staying tonight?” Regina asks. “I’m going to stay with Mom since it’s the first night in the apartment,” he says as they all head out the door.

“Well that’s odd,” Emma says out loud pointing to a red and blue parrot sitting upon a lamppost. “This better not mean trouble is coming! We need a break!” Emma groaned as Hook places his hand at the base of her back as she leans into him. “I don’t know, but it wouldn’t hurt to look into it,” Regina says as she grabs Robin’s hand that is not holding onto their sleepy little boy. “Lets all go home and get some rest,” Snow says, “we can look into it later if we still sense something is off.” They all say their goodbyes with Henry giving hugs all around before they head in three different directions for home. When Emma, Killian, and Henry get back to the apartment Henry bids them goodnight and heads for his new room.. Killian pulls Emma in for a kiss, saying, “I love you”, and tells her he will see her tomorrow since she and Henry would be spending the first night in their apartment alone especially since he knew he could not invite himself to stay. He also knew that Emma was ready for a night with just him since they have not gotten any one-on-one time since they broke her from the Dark One’s curse. Emma goes to Henry’s room to see if he wanted to watch a movie they spend the rest of the night curled up on their couch watching a movie before heading back to their bedrooms to get some much needed sleep after a long day of unpacking.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Robin had spent some time planning the perfect proposal. He decided that he wanted to do it with a special dinner for the four of them. The two boys were such an important part of their life and he could not imagine them not being there. He planned to wait until Regina went to work to start preparing everything. Roland still did not know what he was planning so he decided he would start there. The little boy was in his room playing with toy cars. He sat down on the floor next to him and started playing with a car. “So what would you think if Regina and I were to get married?” Robin asked his son. The young boy gave his father a confused look “What do you mean get married?” he asked. “It means that we would be promising to spend the rest of our lives together. That also includes you two boys. We would basically be making the four of us officially a family. How would you feel about that?” Robin responded. “I thought you, mama, me, and Henry are a family, but okay.” Roland said while continuing to play with his cars. Robin chuckled at his son’s response, he was not entirely sure the young boy understood but he did not expect him to. Robin decided to spend a little time with his son playing cars. A short time later, Henry came in Roland’s room and asked if they were ready to go. Robin was taking the boys to get everything they needed for dinner and some roses to give to Regina.

When they got back from the store he went over the plan with the boys one last time so they knew what to do and say. He wanted the boys to give her the flowers when she got home and tell her it was because she had been working so hard lately. Regina had mentioned that she was finally almost caught up at work and was looking forward to spending a bit more time at home. Then he made sure Henry knew where the ring was so he could bring it to him at just the right moment. He thought that by Henry being the one to hand him the ring, it was like the boy was expressing his approval. After the boys knew the plan, Robin told them they could go watch movies and play in the living room. Then Robin got to work on making dinner.

He was making roast beef with green beans and roasted red potatoes. Once the food was started he set the table and got the candles out to for the middle of the table. There was still an hour before Regina was supposed to be home for dinner and he found himself becoming incredibly nervous. What if she said no? He knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, but what if she wanted to do it without being married? They had not actually talked about getting married. I mean she did not exactly have the best examples of marriage to go off of. Her parent’s marriage had been anything but loving from what Regina had described to him. Her mother’s word was pretty much law and her father was always very submissive to her. Regina told him it always seemed more like a business arrangement than a marriage to her. After all her mother was never looking for love, she was looking for power. Regina’s marriage to Leopold was arranged by her mother and she spent it living in the shadow of Leopold’s dead wife. She never gave him much details on exactly what went on in the marriage, but he got the sense Leopold was not very kind to her. Despite the doubts running through his head, Robin decided it was worth it to take the chance and continue with his plans. He decided to focus on making the salad and getting dessert started. Before too long, Regina was walking through the door.

Their two sons met her in the foyer where she was setting her purse and keys down on the small table in the entry-way. Roland handed her the dozen roses he had in his hand. “What are these for?” Regina asked with a huge smile on her face. “You have been working a lot lately.” Roland said, just like his dad had told him to. “And we just wanted to pamper you a little.” Henry told her. “Well thank you very much you two.” Regina replied as she pulled her boys into a hug. The two boys then led her to the kitchen where Robin was waiting. They both took their seats as Robin was pulling out a chair for Regina. “Welcome home love.” Robin said kissing Regina before she took her seat. He then took his seat across the table from her. They ate their dinner and chatted about their days as they always did. Robin was trying to make sure that Regina did not become suspicious of what he was planning. Once they were finished eating, Robin got the dessert ready. He had made a chocolate cake with a glaze on top, it was Regina’s favorite. “Okay seriously, you boys went through a lot of trouble for this. What are the three of you up to?” Regina asked hoping for an explanation. “We just wanted to do something special for you with all the hard work you’ve been doing lately.” Robin said to try to keep her in the dark about what he had planned for after dessert. “How did I get so lucky to have you three men in my life?” Regina said smiling at the three people who meant the most to her. Once they finished dessert the boys took the dishes to the sink. Robin took a deep breath and scooted over to Henry’s chair so he could be closer to Regina.

“Regina, I have something I want to say to you. You have made me happier than I ever thought was possible. You are one of the most loving and caring people I have ever met. The life we have made with our sons is better than anything I could have hoped for. You amaze me. After everything you have been through you are still standing here today, stronger than ever. I find myself falling more in love with you every day. I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else…” Robin paused as Henry had pulled the ring out of the drawer it was hidden in and brought it over to Robin. Robin got down on one knee, his heart skipping a beat before asking “Regina will you marry me?” as he opened the ring box. Regina had tears streaming down her cheeks and a look of absolute adoration in her eyes. “Robin you make me just as happy. I love our life together and I would love to marry you.” Regina replied to his question. He slid the ring on her left ring finger before she helped him into a standing position and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Robin placed a hand on her cheek and wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Henry had been holding back Roland to give their parents a minute. Finally, he released his little brother and allowed him to run over to them. Robin picked the young boy up in his arms as Regina wrapped an arm around Henry. Henry wrapped his free arm around Robin’s waist while Regina and Robin wrapped their free arms around each other pulling them all into a family hug. Robin kissed Regina again as they held their boys close. The hug ended abruptly as Henry pulled away from the group and ran upstairs. When he returned he had two bags. “Now for my surprise engagement present to you both. Roland and I will be spending the night at my other mom’s to give you guys some time to yourselves.” Henry told them. “Wait is Emma okay with this?” Regina asked. “Yeah she’s on her way over now. And no I didn’t tell her you guys were getting engaged, I just told her mom had been working a lot lately and I figured you guys deserved some time to yourselves.” Henry responded. Regina did not know whether to be thankful or embarrassed that Henry had thought of this. She was not entirely sure she was ready for him to be so grown up. A few minutes later Emma pulled into the driveway. The boys immediately ran out to the car; Roland excited to spend the night at Emma’s new apartment for the first time. Regina stood in the front doorway and waved to Emma not wanting the blonde to see her wearing an engagement ring just yet. They had decided they wanted to tell everyone at the same time the next day.

Once the boys were gone, Regina went into the living room where Robin was waiting on the couch for her. She sat down next to him before curling up in his arms. She realized she had yet to actually look at the ring Robin had given her. “What do you think?” Robin asked. “It’s perfect. The whole evening was perfect.” Regina responded before kissing him. She could not believe that she had no idea he was planning all of this. They relaxed together on the couch for a little while talking about wedding ideas. Of course they would sneak kisses in as they talked about everything. Before too long Regina took Robin’s hand and led him upstairs to their bedroom.

When they reached their bedroom, Robin wrapped his arms around her stomach from behind and began kissing her neck. Regina soon turned around in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. At first the kisses were soft and sweet, but they quickly became deeper and more passionate. She pulled his shirt over his head as he was unzipping her dress. She kicked her heels off before stepping out of her dress. He effortlessly picked her up continuing to kiss her before gently putting her down on their bed. They made love and while they had done this many times before, it somehow felt different now that they were engaged. After, Regina laid her head on his chest listening to his heartbeat as she had done many nights before. She thought about how he had proposed earlier that night. Honestly she thought she never wanted to get married again, but as soon as Robin asked her she could not imagine her life any other way. She loved and trusted him and knew this marriage would be completely different than her marriage to Leopold. Robin placed his index finger under her chin and used it to tilt her face towards his. “I love you.” Robin told her, staring directly into her beautiful brown eyes. “I love you too.” she replied. He began to kiss her again and soon they made love a second time that night. Regina still could not quite put her finger on what made it feel different. Maybe somehow being engaged made it more intimate. Or possibly it was just a natural progression of their relationship. They knew each other, every inch of each other. They were comfortable with each other and their relationship felt safe. Robin gave Regina one last kiss before the couple curled up close and fell into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning they woke up in each other’s arms still naked from the night before. “Good morning.” Regina said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Regina got up out of bed out of habit as if the boys would be wanting breakfast any minute. Robin playfully grabbed her by her hips and pulled her back into bed with him. “What time did you tell everyone to meet us at Granny’s?” he asked her while nipping at her neck. “I told everyone to meet for lunch.” Regina told him. “So we have some time?” Robin asked a hungry look in his eyes. “I guess we do.” she replied before capturing his lips in another kiss. They made love again in bed before getting in the shower together. Regina would have to remember to thank Emma for taking the boys last night. It had been a long time since she and Robin could be completely alone together without having to worry about where the boys were. They lost track of time in the shower together and had to hurry to get ready and meet everyone for lunch.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 

Emma and the boys settled in to watch a movie. She had let Roland pick what to watch and he chose Aladdin. Before they started the movie Emma made popcorn for the three of them and hot cocoa with cinnamon. Emma stretched out on the couch while the boys were laying on the floor with pillows and blankets. As they were watching the movie, Emma started to get a strange sense that something in the story seemed familiar. They kept watching the movie and Emma could not shake this feeling of familiarity. Suddenly it dawned on her. The stupid parrot she saw outside of Granny’s the other night. It looked oddly similar to Iago. I mean at this point nothing would surprise her. She decided that she would bring it up to everyone tomorrow during lunch at Granny’s. When the movie was over, she sent the boys to bed in Henry’s room. Even though she was tired, Emma stayed up for a little bit thinking about the movie. Could that parrot they saw really be Iago? If it was, does that mean a new danger may be heading to Storybrooke? Or worse yet, they were already here.

The next morning Emma made breakfast for the boys. They all played a few games of Candyland (which Roland won) before getting ready. Once they were all ready, they headed out to meet everyone at Granny’s. When they got to Granny’s, Snow and David had already gotten a table for the group with baby Neal sitting in his mother’s lap. Hook was sitting with them, chatting with David. Emma gave Hook a quick kiss not wanting to upset her father. The three of them took a seat, just as Robin and Regina walked in. They joined everyone at the table. 

“So we have something we need to tell everyone.” Robin said to the group. Henry and Roland’s eyes lit up and a smile appeared on Hook’s face. Robin took Regina’s hand in his, interlacing their fingers. “Last night Robin asked me to marry him and I said yes.” Regina said, smiling from ear to ear. Snow let out a squeal that startled Neal who was sitting in her lap. “Oh my god, that’s great news you guys!” Emma said getting up to hug the newly engaged couple. “That really is great news you guys. It’s great being married you’ll love it.” Charming said, winking at Snow as he did so. “So any idea when you guys are going to get married?” Snow asked finally calming down enough to speak. “We haven’t decided yet, I mean we just got engaged last night.” Robin replied. Hook got up and shook Robin’s hand before giving Regina a quick hug. When he sat back down, Emma was curious about why he did not seem quite as caught off guard by the news. “Did you know about this?” Emma asked him. Hook and Robin exchanged looks “Well I may have helped him pick out the ring a few weeks ago…” Hook replied. “You’ve known for weeks and didn’t tell me?” Emma smacked him in the arm. “To be fair, I swore him to secrecy.” Robin came to Hook’s defense. “You are so going to pay for this.” Emma whispered to Killian. Ruby came over to take everyone’s order and Granny came along. “So I hear congratulations are in order?” Granny asked. “Thank you, but wait how did you guys hear that? You were all the way in the back.” Regina replied. “Wolf hearing, we pretty much hear everything in the diner at all times.” Ruby reminded them. The group let out a laugh before giving Ruby their orders.

While they ate lunch, Emma decided she should probably bring up to the group her suspicions after watching the movie last night. “So do you guys remember the parrot we saw hanging around outside of here?” Emma asked the group. “Yes, why do you ask?” Regina replied taking her hand back from Snow who had been closely examining her ring. “Well the boys and I were watching Aladdin last night and I thought the parrot in the movie seemed oddly similar to the one we saw the other night.” Emma said, unsure how the group would respond. “Are you sure?” David asked his daughter. “I mean as sure as I can be when comparing a cartoon bird to a real life one.” Emma responded. “All I know is that if that bird is in fact Iago, we should probably all keep an eye out for anything else out of the ordinary around town.” Emma explained to the group. “We should probably have a look around some of the quieter parts of town where someone might hide out. Just to be on the safe side.” David replied. “Hook and Robin, would you guys be up to helping with this?” Emma asked the guys. “I don’t see why not.” Robin answered. Hook nodded his head in agreement.

Elsewhere across town in an abandon building near the docks, a parrot returned to it’s master. “Tell me Iago, what have you found out about this place?” Jafar asked his loyal servant. “Not much, they wear strange clothing. They are starting to wonder where I came from though.” Iago replied. “Well maybe it’s time we made our presence known.” Jafar mused aloud. He turned his attention to the woman contained in a makeshift cage. “What do you think my dear Jasmine?” Jafar asked his captive. “I think you should bite me.” she replied. “Sassy as ever I see. You should be a bit nicer to me, I could always forget to feed you or something.” Jafar said raising his voice a bit. “Whatever at least, I wouldn’t have to sit around listening to your idiotic plans. Aladdin will find me, for all you know he’s already here looking for me.” Jasmine rolled her eyes as she said the first part of her statement. Jafar chose to ignore Jasmine, she was beginning to frustrate him.

A short time later, Jafar with Iago riding on his shoulder found themselves walking down the main road through town. At the same time, the whole group was walking out of Granny’s. Snow was the first to notice the stranger walking down the street. “Hey guys, I think I found something out of the ordinary in town.” she said pointing to the man walking with the parrot they had previously seen. The group turned to look. “Yeah, I think we definitely have a problem. That guys looks an awful lot like Jafar, the villain in the movie. Do you agree Henry?” Emma asked although she was positive now who was in their town. “Yeah, that’s definitely him.” Henry replied to his mother. “Snow take the kids back inside Granny’s” Charming said, ushering his wife and the children through the door. Snow nodded and guided all of the kids inside with her. Henry followed after a little nudge from Regina. “Let’s go see what this new visitor is here for.” Regina told the group.

Regina approached the stranger, flanked on one side by Robin and Charming and on the other by Emma and Hook. “Hello, my name is Regina Mills I am the mayor of this town. These are David and Emma, our two sheriffs, and Robin and Hook, our two deputies. Is there something we can help you find?” Regina said when they reached the stranger. “Nice to meet you Ms. Mills, I’m Jafar. We’re just trying to get to know your town since we are new here.” Jafar replied, he did not want to start stepping on anyone’s toes just yet. “Please call me Regina. Well if you need anything just let one of us know. Have a good day.” Regina answered. “Thank you, I will. You have a good day as well.” Jafar said and continued on his way. “Well he didn’t seem all that bad.” Charming said to the group once Jafar was far enough down the street to not overhear. “Something’s not right about him. I don’t even need Emma’s superpower to know something is off about him.” Regina replied. “Yeah I agree something is definitely off about that guy. I say we keep a close eye on him.” Emma said. Hook and Robin nodded in agreement with their significant others. “Hopefully, we’re just being paranoid. We could definitely use a break from the craziness in this town.” Regina said. Robin put a reassuring hand on her lower back, sensing how tense this was making her. “I guess Hook and I can take the first shift tracking this guy.” Emma told the group. Hook took her hand and they headed off in the direction Jafar had. The remaining group went back into Granny’s to fill everyone in on what just happened.

When Jafar was confident he was no longer being followed, he found his way back to the abandon building he was using as his hideout. “This town doesn’t seem so bad, I think we should stick around for a while. Although we definitely have some changes to make if we want to stick around, I know you hate to have anyone ruling over you. I’m not sure exactly what a mayor is, but she seemed like a leader. Shouldn’t be too hard to overthrow her.” Iago was thinking out loud. “Yes if we’re going to stay in this town, we need to find a way to rule it. I spent far too long under idiots who thought they knew how to rule a kingdom. We must be careful though, the mayor’s name sounds familiar. I think there was an extremely powerful and evil sorceress by that name in another land.” Jafar replied to the parrot. “Ugh, seriously! You want to try to take over another kingdom because you know that worked out so well for you last time.” Jasmine said from the cage with a smirk on her face. “Lessons learned. It’ll just make it that much easier this time.” Jafar replied with a laugh. “Iago we have work to do. If we want to have a chance at success we need the perfect plan this time around. Let’s get to work.” Jafar told the parrot as Iago followed obediently.

“I guess we lost him.” Hook said to Emma. “Oh well, we just need to keep an eye out for him around town. What do you say we head back to my place for some dinner?” Emma replied. Hook took her by the hand as they began to walk back to her apartment.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

One night Emma and Hook were cuddled up on the couch watching a movie while Henry was staying at Regina’s. Emma had been thinking about it but didn’t know how to breach the topic with either him or Henry. All she knows is that she wants her relationship with Killian to continue moving forward and not get stuck in this in between stage they have been at since the darkness was banished. “Killian…” Emma pauses the movie, “… can we talk for a minute?” Emma readjusts on the couch in order to look at Killian better. “Love, your worrying me… are we breaking…” Killian started before Emma cut in with a loud “NO!”

“I’m sorry Killian, I didn’t mean to scare you. I don’t want to break up. I love you too much to give up on this life. But I do need to know how you see our relationship and your relationship with Henry being now and for the future.” Emma explained as Killian takes both her hands in his. “It’s okay, love, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I love you, too!” he leans forward and gives her a quick kiss before pulling back to smile at her. “Emma, I want our relationship to move forward. I can see how all of this is taking its toll on you how we have been and I want us back to where we were headed before you sacrificed yourself for the sake of Regina’s happiness. You have always been good and you proved that when you sacrificed yourself. I just don’t want our relationship to halt.” Emma moves closer to Hook, “I want the same thing Killian. I don’t want to halt our relationship. I want move forward with you but I, also, know a lot of things need discussed with Henry though before I make any decisions because every decision I make affects his life as much as it does the two of us.” Emma explained. “Love, I know Henry is the main concern to both of us. I want to be a father to him as much as Robin is. I don’t want to take the place of Baelfire but I want to be someone he can turn to when he doesn’t want to discuss things with you and Regina.” Killian kisses the side of her head as Emma lets out a sigh. “I want the same thing. I know you don’t want to take the place of Neal but you are the only one besides Rumple who knew him as a child so you can tell Henry stories about him and his time on the Jolly Roger with you. You just need to remember that there are certain decision…” Killian interrupts her, “Swan, hold on a minute. I know there are certain decisions that fall to you and Regina that Robin and I will just have to go along with and if Henry doesn’t like it he will have to get over it. But I would like it if when it comes to most decisions, all four of us can sit down together to discuss things.” Emma leans in to give Killian a quick kiss before smiling at him, “I think we can take that into consideration.” She doesn’t discuss her plans of wanting him to move in because she wants to discuss it with Henry first.

After ordering Chinese in for dinner, they curled back up on the couch to finish the movie. When the food arrived the movie had just ended so they chose another one and stayed that way until Emma had fallen asleep on Hook’s shoulder. He turned off the movie, and carried Emma to bed. Shortly after laying down with her Killian could feel himself falling asleep; and the next thing Killian knew he was woken up by Emma’s tossing and turning. He knew it was more than likely another nightmare. Before Hook had the chance to wake Swan, the nightmare had gotten too bad and she started screaming. “Swan, love, wake up!” Killian shook her trying to get her to wake up as she continued screaming. “Emma, please love, wake up! It’s okay, I got you just, please, wake up!” Hook pleads with the still sleeping woman. Moments later Emma jolts awake from the nightmare. “You okay, love? What was it about this time?” Hook asks as he pulls her back down to lie on his chest. “It was about Zoso. It’s like my brain is taking me through memories of past Dark Ones.” Emma tells him. “What was the memory you saw? You don’t have to tell me but I’d like to be able to help you,” Killian whispers as he places a kiss to the top of her head.

For the next few hours Emma told him about seeing Zoso control the knights in order to take the children for the Ogre Wars. She told him how she saw Rumplestiltskin kill him in order to protect Baelfire from the knights on his birthday. By the time Emma got to the end of the nightmare she was crying because she got to see Bae as a boy, Henry’s age. How she found out that Rumple had only ever been trying to protect Baelfire, even from his own father. When Emma was done retelling the nightmare to Killian she was more tired than she had been when she fell asleep on the couch. With a small whisper of “I love you,” Emma clutched Hook’s shirt to pull herself closer to him and fell asleep even before hearing Killian whispers his own, “I love you, too,” before he kisses her on the head and falls asleep alongside her. 

The next morning Emma woke up in her bed alone with a chill. Grabbing the blankets to wrap them tighter around her to keep herself warm; she could smell eggs and bacon cooking. Getting out of bed she made her way into the living space and saw both of her boys in the kitchen cooking her breakfast. She had texted Henry last night to see if he would come spend a couple hours with her because she wanted to talk to him. Heading into the kitchen she kisses Henry on the head with a quick “Good Morning,” before wrapping her arms around Killian. As she went to give him a kiss on the cheek for his own “good morning,” Killian turned his head and catches her lips with his in a slow, long kiss. “Ewwww! Why do all my parents feel like it’s okay to kiss like that in front of me?” Henry complains while grabbing plates from the cabinet for their food causing both Emma and Killian to chuckle. “Sorry, kid,” Emma chuckles, “you will have to just get over it. Your mom and Robin are already engaged and who knows where mine and Killian’s relationship is going at this point. All we know is that we want to have a future together.” Henry lets out a sigh, “I know I just don’t want to always see it.” Killian ruffles Henry’s hair saying, “I think we can try to make it a little less gross for you if you want us too.”

After breakfast Killian headed off to the sheriff station in order to help David out for a few hours while Emma and Henry spent some time together. The two of them were playing Monopoly when she says, “Henry, can I talk to you about something while we play?” Henry rolls the dice, “Sure Mom what’s going on?” Emma is so nervous before she says, “How would you feel about Killian moving in with us?” Henry looks up from his game after taking his next turn, “Mom if that is what you want then I’m okay with it. He and Robin are like fathers to me and I know they don’t want to take the place of my Dad but I also know that they will always be there for me when I need them. I just want you happy. If that means Hook moving in then I want that. You deserve it. Especially after sacrificing your life for Mom. You deserve your happy ending just as much as anyone else and I believe that Hook is your happy ending. After hearing Henry say all of that Emma couldn’t wait to finally find the time to ask Killian especially since Iago and Jafar are lurking around. For the next few days she kept thinking about doing it but kept putting it off waiting on just the right time.

A few days after Emma and Hook had been discussing the future of their relationship, another relationship in Storybrooke was about to go through even more changes. 

Regina could hear Robin watching TV downstairs with their sons. They were watching something funny because she could hear the laughter all the way upstairs. It was a Saturday, but Regina thought she needed to head into work for a few hours. While she had gotten caught up on everything she let slide when helping Emma, things had gotten busy again so she was working a bit more. She had taken her time this morning getting ready to go. The boys both slept in so she and Robin had laid in bed for a while, just cuddling and talking about the wedding. It had been a few weeks since they got engaged and decided it was time that they really started working on plans. Once they got up she went down and ate breakfast with the three of them before heading upstairs to get ready. Regina was finishing up her makeup, waiting for the results of the test that sat on the counter. When she looked down at the test and the result appeared, she could not help but cry. Regina waited a few seconds and doubled checked to be sure, but the digital readout definitely said pregnant. She could feel her heart skip a beat, thinking to herself I cannot believe it worked.

Regina had spent down time when she was not researching how to save Emma or spending time with the boys, researching potions to reverse the infertility one she took many years earlier. Now that she had Robin back, she wanted to give them every opportunity for their future, including having more children if they chose to. At first, she thought it was not going to be possible. Everything she found seemed to be a dead end or far too dangerous to even try. Finally, she found a few potions that seemed promising. She started trying the potions, but had yet to see any results. After everything that had been going on recently, Regina had not really been paying attention to her health. When she realized she had been feeling nauseous on and off for almost two weeks she became suspicious that something bigger might be going on. She then took some time at her office one day to look at a calendar and realized that she had not had her period in two months. Despite the positive pregnancy test, she was still not ready to believe it. After everything she had been through, she still struggled to accept when good things happened. She decided to be sure she would stop by the hospital on her way to work for a quick blood test. She placed the positive test back in the box and hid it in a drawer of sweaters to be sure no one would find it.

When she arrived at the hospital she found Dr. Whale and let him know her suspicions. They did not always have the best relationship, but he agreed to have a nurse take some blood and do some tests. Once the nurse took her blood, Dr. Whale promised to call her later that day with the results. “Any idea how far along you might be?” he asked her before she left. “I’m not sure, but I’m thinking I could be as far as two months along.” Regina replied. “Well this blood work will tell us if you are pregnant and give us a bit more accurate idea of where you are at.” Dr. Whale explained to her. She headed to her office after leaving the hospital, but she was not entirely sure it was even worth it. Regina was not sure how she would be able to focus to get any work done until she knew for sure if she was pregnant.

Regina thankfully managed to get some work done while she was at the office, but her mind kept wandering. At one point Emma had called her and given her an update on their investigation into Jafar. All they really knew at this point, was that he was up to something not good. Unfortunately at this point they had been unable to figure out exactly it was he was planning. Or even figure out where he was staying. 

After 5 hours at the office, Regina decided to head home for the day. Just as she was packing her things up, her cell phone began to ring in her purse. “Hello” Regina said as she picked up the phone, she noticed her hands were shaking. “Good afternoon Regina, this is Dr. Whale. I just wanted to give you a quick call and let you know that you are in fact pregnant. Based on your hormone levels and when your last period was, I’m guessing you’re about 9 weeks along. Congratulations! I would like you to schedule an appointment for an ultrasound and a check-up if at all possible in the next week.” as Dr. Whale was saying all of this, Regina could barely contain her excitement. “I will call to set up the appointment as soon as possible, thank you Dr. Whale.” Regina said before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. She had not let herself fully believe she was pregnant out of fear that the earlier test had been a false positive. Now that she was for sure pregnant, she placed a hand on her stomach “I promise I will always protect you.” Regina whispered to her stomach. It amazed her that knowing she was pregnant with his child, made her love Robin that much more. Every time she thought she could not love him more, something would happen to prove her wrong. A moment later she remembered that Robin still had no idea about any of this. Would he even be happy about all of this? After everything he had been through with Zelena. She had not only kept it a secret that she was trying to reverse the infertility potion, but she also kept it a secret this morning when she found out. Plus, they had not really talked about having children of their own thinking it was not an option. Does he even want more children? What if he was happy with their family the way it was? She decided she would tell him that night after the boys went to bed. At least then she would know how he felt about it. That’s if she did not accidently spill the secret before then out of excitement, although now her excitement was accompanied by a bit of nervousness and fear. Nervousness about how Robin would react to the news. Fear that Robin might not be happy about this, as well as fear that many women experience when they are pregnant for the first time.

When she arrived home, the boys had just come home from the park. Regina told Robin she would make dinner tonight as he had done most of the cooking lately with her working so much. “We can make it together.” Robin told her. They headed into the kitchen and she quickly sautéed some chicken in a pan with peppers that Robin had cut up. She mixed in some homemade dressing and soy sauce for some added flavor. Robin had been cooking some pasta for the chicken and peppers mixture to go over. They chatted about their days as they cooked and just enjoyed spending time together. Regina caught herself almost spilling her secret a few times while they made dinner. She then made it all the way through dinner without saying anything about it. 

The boys asked to watch a movie together as a family after dinner, which Regina and Robin agreed to. When the movie was over around 9, Regina told the boys it was time for bed. Even though Henry’s bedtime was a bit more flexible now that he was a teenager, she still liked for him to at least be in bed relaxing by a decent hour. Henry and Roland gave their parents hugs before heading up to bed. Henry offered to tuck Roland in and read him a story. Roland loved spending time with Henry and immediately agreed, as long as his parents promised to come give him a kiss goodnight when they finished their book. Once the boys were upstairs, Regina curled up next to Robin and they picked a movie that they could watch. They had to pause the movie after about 20 minutes when Henry said Roland wanted them to come up and kiss him goodnight. Both parents obliged and went upstairs, each giving their son a kiss goodnight while Henry headed to his room to go to bed himself. 

When they returned downstairs, they sat down on the couch together and wrapped their arms around each other. Regina rested her head on his shoulder, deciding she needed to tell him the news she had been waiting all night to share. Regina stopped Robin from pushing play to start the movie again. “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something. I’m just not exactly sure where I want to start.” Regina said, adjusting herself to sit Indian style on the couch and face Robin. He mirrored her movement, resting a comforting hand on her knee . “You know you can tell me anything.” Robin replied with a reassuring smile. “Well after talking about the wedding this morning, I found myself thinking about our future. It got me thinking about having more children. I was just wondering about your thoughts on the matter.” Regina had decided to see what he thought about having more children before she told him. “Well, I hadn’t really thought about it much since you told me that you couldn’t have children. If by some miracle it were to happen though, I’d be over the moon. How would you feel about it?” Robin asked her a bit unsure as to where this was going. This made Regina smile from ear to ear before she decided it was time to tell him the whole story. “It would make me incredibly happy. So back when we were trying to save Emma, I was keeping something from you. I was experimenting with potions to reverse the infertility one I took back in the Enchanted Forest. I didn’t think any of them worked so I didn’t mention anything about it…” Regina said before taking a pause to compose herself. Robin seemed to be catching on to what was going on and took the pause to ask her a question. “Wait, are you telling me that you’re pregnant?” Robin asked, his heart almost pounding out of his chest. Tears filled Regina’s eyes and all she could manage to say was “Yes”. “Oh my gosh Regina! That’s amazing!!!” he said, immediately pulling her into a hug. “I love you so much.” he whispered in her ear as they held each other. “I love you too.” she replied. 

When they released each other from the hug, Robin wiped the tears from Regina’s cheeks before resting one of his hands on the top of her thigh and the other hand on her stomach. “Wait so how are you feeling? How long have you known? Do you know how far along you are?” Robin just kind of spit out all the questions floating around in his mind. “I feel a little nauseous and tired, but otherwise I feel good. I only started getting suspicious a few days ago, but didn’t work up the courage to take a test until this morning. Then I got a blood test at the hospital today to be sure. Dr. Whale said based on the results of the tests, I’m probably about 9 weeks along. I just didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure it had worked. Are you mad that I kept this from you?” Regina replied, making sure she answered all of his questions. “I mean, I wish you would have told me you were experimenting with potions so that I could have been there for you, but I’m just beyond happy that it worked and that you’re okay.” Robin responded. He knew that he probably should have been more upset that she had not told him that she had been experimenting with potions, but he was too happy that they were having another child to be upset. “I know I wanted to tell you, but after everything that happened with Zelena I didn’t know how you would feel about it. Not to mention I didn’t want to get your hopes up, if you did want more children.” Regina told him. “I understand, I just wish you hadn’t gone through all that alone. From now on though, no more secrets, we are in this together okay. We are a family, all five of us. I will always be there for you, our boys, and for this baby.” Robin replied. Regina was overflowing with feelings of love, relief, and happiness as she pulled him into a passionate kiss. “I promise, no more secrets. I love you.” Regina said pulling her lips from his and resting her forehead on his. “I love you too.” Robin replied, capturing her lips in another kiss before they cuddled up on the couch together.

They started the movie again, but spent the whole time talking about when they would tell everyone the news. Eventually a very tired Regina fell asleep on Robin’s chest. Robin placed a hand on her stomach, overwhelmed with the joy and love he felt after what she had told him. Their family was continuing to grow and he would do everything in his power to make sure they were all happy, healthy, and safe. He tried to focus on the end of the movie, but soon found himself falling asleep as well.

They woke up the next morning on the couch with Roland trying to wake them up. “Oh, good morning sweetheart. Do you want some breakfast?” Regina said to him. Roland nodded before running towards the kitchen. Robin was still half asleep so Regina kissed him to wake him up. “I’m up. I promise.” Robin said with a yawn. Before Regina could get up off of the couch Robin pulled her closer to him and placed his hand on her stomach. “I can’t wait to meet our little man.” Robin said. “Or little woman, I could really use another girl in this house.” she replied winking at him before giving him one last kiss and getting up from the couch. She then headed into the kitchen to get breakfast for Roland.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

A week after discussing Hook moving in with Henry, he started back to school. His moms could not believe that he was going to be a freshman in high school. Henry was excited for this year; the only downfall, he felt was that he was going to have to help Roland from the bus stop to their mom’s office in the afternoon and keep an eye on him when they got to school so that Roland knew where he was going. Henry may see it as a bit of a downfall but he, also, loves that he gets to spend some one on one time with his little brother. Roland was thrilled with the arrangements; by the second week of school Roland did not want Robin walking with them in the mornings. He wanted those 10 minutes in the morning and the half hour in the afternoon, to get as snack at Granny’s, for just him and his big brother.

Emma kept debating when to ask Killian to move in with her and Henry. At family dinner on the second Friday of the school year Emma had made up her mind; she was going to ask Killian to move in. Since it was Henry’s week to stay at Regina’s it really made her decision to ask him easier. After family dinner at her parent’s, Emma and Killian were walking back to the apartment when Emma decided they should take a walk along the water. “Swan, is everything okay? You’ve been quiet since we left your parent’s.” Killian said as he pulled her to a stop at a bench overlooking the water. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap kissing the side of her head. “Just thinking about the conversation we had two weeks or so ago,” she replied snuggling more into his body. “You mean the one about my relationship with Henry?” Killian asks with wonder. “That’s the one; I had the same conversation with Henry after you left. He seems to agree that we are missing something important in the apartment…” Emma starts hinting but Hook is not picking up on the clue fast enough for her liking, “… Killian, the thing missing in the apartment is you!” Emma finally exclaims. “Love, did you just ask me to move in with you and the lad”? Without answering Hook’s question with words Emma turns her head and catches Killian’s lips in a sweet, passionate kiss.

The two of them headed inside after agreeing that Killian would officially move in the next day and pay off his bill at Granny’s. The two of them watched a movie while cuddling on the couch before heading to bed. After a peaceful nights sleep they got up and went to Granny’s for breakfast before heading up to Killian’s room to pack it all up. After packing some boxes they realized that Killian had accumulated more on his stay in Storybrooke than they originally thought. Killian ran out to get a few more boxes to accommodate for the extra stuff he had accumulated. They finished packing up and headed back to the apartment to unload before making a second trip to get the last of his belongings. They could have asked for help but they were not ready to tell anyone they were moving in together. They wanted it to be their own little secret for just the weekend. Once they had all the boxes up the stairs they knew they needed to get to unpacking or it would take them forever to do it and it would drive them both crazy. As they tried to fit all of his clothes with all of hers in the closet and in the drawers they realized it was going to be a tight fit. “Swan, can’t you just use magic to make the closet and dresser just a bit bigger?” Hook asked putting his arms around her from behind. “If I could I probably would. How did you end up with so much in your short time here?” Emma says turning in his arms. Hook just chuckles in response before leaning down to steal a quick kiss before they got back to unpacking. 

After they finally got everything unpacked they decided on pizza for dinner and ice cream for dessert and since they were out of ice cream and beer, Hook decided to let Emma relax while he went out to pick up the pizza and buy some ice cream and beer. “Love, why don’t you go relax in a nice bubble bath and I’ll go pick everything up,” Killian says with a quick kiss. Emma took Killian up on that option and got in the tub after he left. All she seemed to think about was how happy she was that she would finally have both her boys under the same roof as her once Henry was back here for his week with them. She knew that he would be happy about Killian having moved in and knew it was not going to be a big adjustment since Henry already knew it was coming. Emma only got out when she heard him come in the door and call out to her to let her know he was home. Before Emma had gotten in the bath she had made the decision on what she was going to wear. Emma was ready to finally get their relationship back to where it was almost two months ago especially since they would now be living together. She slipped her robe on over her outfit and joined her boyfriend in the kitchen. “Well Swan, you didn’t have to get all dressed up for me,” Hook joked. “Was too hungry; I can always go put more clothes on,” Emma says sending Killian a wink. 

After some pizza Killian put on a movie and grabbed the ice cream. A half hour and a shared sundae later, Emma had a different idea as she started kissing Hook’s neck and moving her hands to unbutton his shirt. Killian let out a deep moan before he could not take any more and pulled Emma into his lap. Before he could get her robe open Emma whispered, “Take me to bed,” in his ear. Without letting her go he walked into their room; Hook slowly laid Emma on the bed before joining her. He opened her robe and couldn’t help but admire her in a navy with white polka dots teddy he had never seen before. Killian was so in a trance he did not realize Emma had him out of his shirt. “Swan, are you sure about this? You know we can continue going slow and don’t have to do this now,” Killian says as Emma looks up at him with a puzzled look on her face. “Hook, are you trying to tell me you don’t want to do this?” Emma asks removing her hands from him. “No, love, trust me I want this,” Killian answered, “I just don’t want you to feel like we need to just because I want to.” Emma looks out a sigh, “Killian, who started this in the living room and who said “take me to bed.” I want this Hook. I wouldn’t have started it if I wasn’t ready but you are really starting to kill the mood and I wish you wouldn’t” Without answering any of Emma’s questions Killian laces his fingers with her before leaning down to kiss her with as much passion and love as he could. They proceeded to make love twice that night before Emma fell asleep lying in the arms of her true love.

A few short hours after falling asleep Emma jolted awake in a cold sweat and woke Killian. “Love, was it another nightmare?” he asked as he pulled the blanket around a naked Emma to keep her warm. “Yes it was…” When she did not continue Hook asked if she would like to talk about it. “Just give me a minute,” Emma answers still shaken, “Can you please go get me a glass of water?” Killian crawls out of his bed, pulls on his boxers and makes his way into the kitchen, while he was in there Emma got out of bed and pulls on a sweatshirt and pajama pants before making her way into the living room taking a seat on the couch. Killian looked over at her saying, “I figured hot chocolate would be better. I’m going to go put more clothes on while I’m waiting on the water to boil.” Emma says nothing in response, just nods her head.

When Killian brings her the hot chocolate she takes it and slowly begins to sip it while he sits beside her and places a sweet kiss to her head. “This nightmare was about Rumpelstiltskin,” Emma said not looking up at Hook. “What about him, love,” Killian asks patiently waiting for her to continue. “I saw his whole encounter with you: from the first time he comes to get Milah at the bar to every encounter from then on. I woke just as he was cutting your hand… I just wanted to save you but realized I couldn’t,” Emma explains with tears rolling down her face. Killian hated seeing his swan like this. He just wants to take away all of her pain and nightmares.

“I just wanted to save you! That’s what I’m the Savior for!” Emma suddenly cries out. “Love, you couldn’t have done anything. You weren’t even alive yet! Plus, if things hadn’t went the way they did I may have never met you, my true love!” Hook exclaims moving Emma’s chin to look her in the eyes and wipe away the tears that kept falling. “I love you, Swan and nothing is going to change that.” Killian tells her. “I love you too,” Emma says through more tears and kisses him soft and sweet before saying, “Let’s go back to bed.” When they were back in bed Killian pulled Emma into his arms and she laid her head on his heart in order to be able to hear it. Killian knew when she fell back to sleep because her breathing had evened out. Hook on the other hand could not seem to fall asleep. All he kept thinking about was the nightmare Emma had and wishing she never had to see that time in his life. 

Once he finally fell back to sleep, even though it only felt like a couple of hours, Hook was woken up by someone knocking on the apartment door and Emma’s cell ringing on the dresser. Slowly extracting himself from Emma, Killian checked her phone and seeing that it read “Mom” Killian knew who was at the door. Not thinking about it he went and answered the door before Emma woke up. “Good morning, Snow,” Killian said as he opened the door. When Snow did not answer and started blushing Killian realized he was only in his boxers after he had stripped back down to just them when he and Emma went back to bed. “Excuse me,” he said quickly before he became more embarrassed. Since Emma was still asleep Killian dressed quickly and left the room. As he came back into the kitchen he could smell coffee brewing and David had joined Snow.

“Where’s Emma?” David asks when he sees Hook. “She’s still sleeping. She had a pretty bad nightmare last night and it took us awhile to get back to sleep. I figured I’d wake her after breakfast was completely ready.” Hook replies seeing the worry on their faces. Once breakfast was ready Killian went in and woke Emma with a soft kiss to the lips that she quickly started to reciprocate. “Love, as much as I’d love for this to continue, your parents are waiting with breakfast. So get dressed love. I have your hot chocolate waiting.” Killian says giving her one last kiss before exiting their room.

At breakfast they told Snow and Charming that Killian had moved in officially. Snow was excited for them and Charming took it a lot better than they all thought he would. As they hung out and talked Emma had a feeling something was wrong when her phone rang and it read “Regina.” Answering the phone Emma doesn’t even get to say hello. “Regina slow down! What happened? Okay, we will be right there!” Emma turns to Hook and her parents saying, “We need to get to Regina’s vault! Robin is dying…”


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

A few hours earlier…

Regina and Robin decided to go for a walk to talk about some things with the baby. She was not showing yet, but Robin figured any day now there would be a little bump starting. About the only sign that she was pregnant was that her breasts had become a bit larger. Something that Robin was not going to complain about. They still had not told the boys. They wanted to wait until Regina hit the 12 week mark which was in a few days. At that point the chances of a miscarriage dropped drastically. The first sonogram was a week and a half ago. Both of their hearts melted the moment they heard the baby’s heartbeat. It was one of the sweetest sounds either one of them had ever heard. After the sonogram Dr. Whale told them that everything looked great and the baby seemed to be right on track size wise. This was a great relief to Regina who had been worried about the effect all the potions may have on the baby. The two of them walked hand in hand through one of the quieter wooded areas of town. They spent most of their walk talking about which room would be the baby’s and how they wanted to tell the boys.

Robin was talking about how excited he was when Regina noticed footprints leading off the main path. “Hey Robin, do any of the Merry Men usually come down here?” Regina asked. “Not typically why do you ask?” Robin replied. “These footprints are off the main path and there aren’t a lot of people who comes out this way. I’m thinking maybe we should investigate a little bit.” Regina responded. Since Jafar was lurking around, they could not afford to ignore the small things. “I will go investigate, you can stay here. I don’t want you or the baby near anything that could hurt you.” Robin used a stern voice. “Robin, I will be fine. I have powers remember. If something goes wrong I can always get us out of here in a puff of smoke.” Regina reminded him. “Fine, but stay behind me.” Robin told her knowing he was not going to win this fight.

They followed the footprints through a more heavily wooded area. Regina stayed behind Robin the whole time as promised. The footprints ended up just leading back to the main path. “I guess it was nothing. Probably just someone hiking who lost their way.” Regina said after they reached the main path. As she was saying this Robin heard leaves rustling nearby and caught something moving out of the corner of his eye. “Or maybe we just hadn’t caught up to them yet.” Robin told her. At this moment they were both thrown backwards, landing on their butts. “What the hell?” Regina exclaimed. Just then she saw Jafar walking towards them with Iago flying close behind him. They both got back to their feet just as Jafar was throwing a fireball directly at Regina. Robin jumped in front of her, taking the fireball in the abdomen. Regina tried to throw one back, but it did not work. She got to Robin as quickly as possible, taking his hand and disappearing in a puff of smoke just as another fireball came flying in their direction.

Regina and Robin ended up on the floor of her vault. She immediately saw that Robin was curled up on his side, his breaths were ragged and shallow. “Oh god, Robin!” she screamed as she rolled him onto his back. He had a huge wound on his abdomen and his face showed he was in excruciating pain. She propped Robin’s head up placing it in her lap. “Okay, you’re going to be okay. I’m just going to heal you.” Regina said tears running down her cheeks. She placed her hands over the wound, but her powers again would not work. She had no reason to use her powers lately so she had no idea that they weren’t working right. Panic began to set in, Robin might not make it if they went to the hospital. 

The thought then crossed her panicked mind, get him to Emma. Emma can heal him! Regina tried to take them to Emma in a puff of smoke, but this time nothing happened. At this, her panic continued to rise within her. The only other thing she could think to do was call Emma. Emma picked up the phone after a few rings. “Emma, I need you to come to my vault now. Robin’s been hit by a fireball and I can’t heal him. Please hurry, I don’t think he can hold on much longer.” Regina said, barely able to keep it together. 

While they waited all she could do was hold him and tell him he was going to be alright. His head was still propped up in her lap, she took one of his hands in hers and used her free hand to gently caress his face trying to soothe the obviously horrible pain he was in. “I love you, you cannot die on me. You’re going to be fine. Emma will be here any minute. You just have to hold on until then.” Regina told him. She felt so helpless not being able to heal him. The baby must be messing with her powers somehow. Robin was struggling to breathe and was going in and out of consciousness. “Hey, look at me. Do not close your eyes! You need to stay awake until Emma gets here, okay.” Regina told him. “I love you, Regina. Make sure you tell our kids I love them too.” Robin was able to say in between ragged breaths, tears were running down his cheeks. Regina was barely keeping it together. “No, you are not saying goodbye. You ARE NOT dying! I need you, our children need you!” Regina did not mean to scream this at him, but she was panicking. She tried to take a deep breath and calm herself down, she had to stay calm for Robin. She needed to keep him awake until Emma got there. Just then she heard footsteps above her.

“Regina, where are you?” she could hear Emma shouting. “We’re down here! Hurry, please!” Regina replied. Robin was barely breathing and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Emma came running into the room and immediately was at Robin’s side. She placed her hands over his wound and began to heal him. Snow, Charming, and Hook were right behind Emma and filed into the room. Snow turned to Charming and he reassuringly wrapped his arms around her. Regina could feel Robin start to take deeper breaths and saw him open his eyes. When Emma was finished Robin sat up and immediately wrapped his arms around Regina, pulling her into a tight hug. She was still crying, but they had switched to tears of happiness and relief. “That was way too close.” Regina said to him, still not ready to let him go. Robin turned his head and kissed her on the cheek. 

Hook had walked over to Emma and helped her to her feet. He then wrapped an arm around her, allowing Emma to relax into his arms. He could tell she had been keeping calm for Regina’s sake and now the reality of how close they were to being too late hit her. She was very clearly shaken as KIllian placed a kiss to her temple, pulling her even closer to him as he did so.

Regina finally released Robin and he wiped her tears from her cheek. She kissed him, soft and sweet on the lips. They helped each other to their feet leaving one arm wrapped around each other and immediately turned to Emma. “Thank you Emma!” Regina said, still trying to regain her composure. “No need to thank me! I know you would do the same for me. I have to ask though, why couldn’t you heal him?” Emma asked. “Well... I’m not entirely sure.” Regina replied. “I’m starting to think it may have something to do with the baby.” Regina nervously said to the group. “Baby! Are you?...” Emma couldn’t seem to finish her question. “Yes, she is.” Robin replied, placing a hand on Regina’s stomach. “Oh my god! Why didn’t you tell anyone? I’m so happy for you!” Emma could barely contain her excitement. “Congratulations, mate!” Hook said, shaking Robin’s hand. “That’s amazing news” Snow said hugging Regina and Charming was shaking Robin’s hand. It was still odd to Regina to hug these people and be congratulated by them, but she was glad to finally have people to share her life with. No matter how annoying they may be to her at times. “So is the baby messing with your powers?” Snow asked. “I’m not entirely sure. I haven’t been using my powers much lately, but it seems like the most likely explanation. Not to mention, the emotions that I have been through in the last hour combined with hormones are probably just adding to the problem.” Regina replied. “I just have to figure out how to control my powers again while I’m pregnant.” Regina told the group. “Oh and we haven’t told the kids yet. We were planning on telling them in a few days when she reached the 12 week mark. So if you guys wouldn’t mind not saying anything to them.” Robin said. The whole group looked right at Snow. “Why are you all looking at me?” Snow asked. “Ummm, hunny... I think they are trying to say you don’t have the best track record with keeping secrets.” Charming told her, kissing her on the temple.

“Well that didn’t go as planned.” Iago said when he and Jafar arrived back at their hideout. “No it did not! I didn’t count on the fool throwing himself in front of her. Why would he do such a thing?” Jafar asked. “Maybe because he loves her. Did you ever think of that? Oh wait, how would you recognize love, when you don’t know how to love anything? I haven’t left this cage and I can tell you he loves her. That’s the only reason a man throws himself in front of a fireball for a woman is if he loves her!” Jasmine teased Jafar. Maybe his annoying captive had a point. He had not taken into account the possibility of personal relationships the people of this town may have. Unfortunately, due to this mistake they had also lost their element of surprise. Jafar needed time to think this through.

Regina and Robin had headed home after leaving the vault. Henry had agreed to stay home and watch Roland earlier while his parents went for a walk. As soon as they heard the door close, Henry and Roland entered the foyer. Roland ran straight to them and Regina caught him taking him up into her arms. “Hey where were you guys. You said you were only going to be gone for like an hour?” Henry asked his parents. “Oh nothing, we just had to take care of something we weren’t planning on while we were out.” Regina told him. Henry still had a suspicious look on his face. “Okay… what are you not telling us?” Henry asked. Regina and Robin did not want to scare the kids by telling them what happened. They looked at each other and realized what the other one was thinking. “You’re right, we have been keeping something from you. Let’s go in the living room and we’ll talk about it.” Regina told them. They all headed into the living room, Regina and Robin sat on either end of the couch with their boys sitting in between them. “Okay, so your dad and I have some news to share with you guys. I’m pregnant.” Regina told them. Henry’s face lit up “Oh my gosh! Mom, that’s amazing!” the older boy said before practically leaping into his mother’s arms. “Roland, do you understand? This means you’re going to have a little brother or sister.” Regina told the younger boy. The little boy seemed to understand this explanation better and joined the hug between Regina and Henry. Robin made his way over and joined them as well, kissing both boys on top of the head. They then decided to have a relaxing night at home and order some pizza for dinner. They watched a movie and answered all the questions the boys had. It was a very enjoyable end to what had been a stressful and terrifying day. Once the boys went to bed, Regina and Robin headed to their room.

When they entered their room, Robin stopped her in her tracks and pulled her into a hug. Regina immediately melted into his arms and almost broke down in tears again as soon as thoughts of what had happened that afternoon returned. “I don’t know what I would have done if Emma didn’t get there in time.” Regina whispered to him. “Don’t even think like that. I’m fine and I’m not going anywhere. Okay, I promise.” Robin whispered back before pulling back slightly from the hug and gently tilting her face up towards him, drawing her into a loving kiss. She could feel herself crying again. Despite Robin’s reassurance, her imagination was running wild with what would happen if she lost him. She quickly closed her eyes and pulled them tighter into the hug, resting her head on his chest to hear his steady heartbeat. After a few moments of listening to the slow beat of his heart as a reminder that he was still here in her arms, Regina was able to will away the terrifying thoughts about losing him that were running through her mind. “How do you feel?” Regina asked. “Pretty sore, but I’ll be fine.” Robin replied. “Yeah, healing can only do so much, it’ll take a few days for it to heal completely.” Regina told him. After changing into their pajamas, they spent the rest of the night laying in bed just holding each other until they fell asleep.

The attack on Regina and Robin had pushed Emma to want to find Jafar immediately. She brought Hook with her for backup as well as company. While it had not been Killian who was close to dying earlier, it still left her thinking about how quickly he could be taken from her. Sensing her uneasiness, Killian took her hand giving it a gentle and calming squeeze. They were searching the woods by where the attack had occurred, when they noticed a bright light appear. They headed towards it and realized it looked a lot like a portal. This town had seen its fair share of portals and they knew to keep their distance. Moments later the portal closed and a man was standing where it had been. Emma and Hook cautiously approached the man. “Hello, who’s there?” the man asked. Emma and Hook came close enough for the stranger to see them. “Hi, we’re Emma and Hook. We work for the sheriff’s station.” Emma replied. “Hello, my name is Aladdin.”


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 

Regina woke up the next morning to her cell phone ringing. She slipped out of Robin’s arms and grabbed her phone off the nightstand and saw that it was Emma. “Hello. Emma can you hold on a second?” Regina said as quietly as possible. She had hoped she was quick enough that her phone would not wake up Robin. After everything that happened yesterday, he needed his rest. Regina began to get up out of bed to take the call out in hall. “It’s okay, I’m up.” Robin told her. “Okay. Thank you for letting us know.” Regina told her. “We are planning on spending the day researching Jafar. I will call you if we find anything.” Regina said, before hanging up the phone.

“What was that about?” Robin asked. “Apparently, Emma and Hook were out looking for Jafar last night and they found someone else. She told me that it was Aladdin and he informed them that Jafar kidnapped his fiancée, Princess Jasmine. He also told them Jafar is both a sorcerer and a genie. Since he is a genie, he is attached to a lamp, but they do not know how to get a hold of it. They are going to see if he has any more information we can use and do some of their own research on Jafar.” Regina replied. “How are you feeling this morning?” she asked. “My whole body aches, but for the most part there is only a bit of actual pain in my stomach.” he responded. Regina laid back down in bed with him, laying her head on his chest. “I never thanked you yesterday for taking that fireball for me.” Regina said. “You do not need to thank me for that. I love you and I will do anything to protect you. Especially, now that it means protecting one of our children as well. I would do it again in a heartbeat.” Robin told her, before kissing her gently on the lips. “It’s just, now that you are pregnant. You may not want to be directly involved in any battles. At least until you figure out how to control your powers again.” Robin worried she would be mad almost as soon as he said it. “Robin, that’s not really an option. I cannot just sit on the sidelines when we are facing someone who clearly has powers. The best I can do is promise to be more careful.” Regina told him. She could see the look of worry on his face. “I will be fine. I just need to figure out how to control my powers again.” Regina tried to reassure him. Just then Roland entered their room. “We can talk more about this later.” Robin told her, he was not ready to drop this subject.

After eating breakfast they settled into the living room to start researching. Regina and Robin had told Henry a modified version of what had happened the day before. They left out the part about how close Robin came to actually dying. The weather had become much cooler as fall started to settle in. Robin lit the fireplace to make the house a bit warmer since it was still not cold enough to turn the heat on in the house. Meanwhile, Regina was setting Roland up with a movie and some toys and Henry was grabbing some books for them to start researching with.

They spent hours reading. Robin had gotten comfortable on the couch while he was reading. He was still trying to recover from the injuries inflicted by the fireball. Regina was sitting on the loveseat with Henry and they both were reading as well. “This is getting pointless, we’re not finding anything.” Regina said, sounding extremely frustrated. “We’ll figure it out mom, it’s only been a few hours.” Henry reminded her. Regina was being impatient, they had been caught off guard once and she was not going to let it happen again. They could not afford to let it happen again. Not to mention the fact that while Regina had for the most part curbed her evil tendencies, Jafar did hurt her true love and she was not about to let him get away with that. Robin was being awfully quiet over on the couch. “You okay over there? You haven’t really said anything.” Regina tried to get his attention. “Sorry, I was focusing. This book does have some information about the rules that come with genie lamps. Hopefully it will have some information about how we get our hands on Jafar’s lamp.” Robin told them. He was still a bit frustrated about his conversation with Regina this morning, but he did not want to say anything around the boys. “I guess if you have a lead on that, I can start looking into ways to help protect Jasmine.” Regina replied. They continued to research till around dinner time. “I think I found some things we can use to protect Jasmine, but they are useless until we can find her. And Jafar for that matter. Maybe Aladdin brought something of Jasmine’s with him. Then we can use a locator potion to find her.” Regina told them. “Well it’s a start. Hopefully, my other mom, grandparents, and Hook are having better luck.” Henry said with a smile. “Did that book yield any more useful information about the lamp?” Regina asked Robin. “Not much, but it did say that destroying the lamp in turn destroys a genie. The problem is he is both a genie and a sorcerer. So, will it just destroy the part of him that is a genie or kill him all together?” Robin replied. “I’m not sure, but it would be worth it to keep looking into as an option.” Regina responded. They had found a few more leads that they needed to follow up on, but they were all getting frustrated with how little progress they were making.

Regina went in the kitchen to make a quick dinner for them. While she was cooking she called Emma and updated her on the progress they had made. They four of them ate dinner in the living room while they continued to research. After dinner they decided to call it a night on the research. They did not find much, but at least they had found a few leads to look into. Regina gave Roland a bath while Robin relaxed on the couch. She wanted him to rest as much as possible in hopes it would help him heal. Henry had gone up to his room to play video games. After Roland was done taking a bath, Regina helped him get ready for bed. She told him to run downstairs and give his dad a hug and a kiss before bed. When the boy came back up, she read him a story before tucking him in and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She peaked her head in Henry’s room and told him that he needed to go to bed once he finished the game he was on. Then she headed back downstairs to the living room.

She found Robin laying on the couch and watching some television. Regina sat on the edge of the couch next to Robin. “Hey, are you sure everything’s okay? You just seemed kind of off all day.” Regina was worried about him. “Look, I understand what we were are up against. I just don’t like the idea of you facing off with Jafar. You need to think about the safety of you and our child” Robin replied. “Not this again. I told you I don’t really have a choice. Do you think I want to put myself in danger? Trust me, I hate this just as much as you do. Unfortunately, it is our job to keep this town safe.” Regina was practically shouting, but she tried to control herself so she did not wake up the boys. She had gotten up off the couch and was pacing in front of the fireplace. How is it that she could love this man so much, yet he could also infuriate her? “Regina, I understand, but at some point you are going to have to slow down. You are pregnant, your body cannot handle being hit by fireballs. Emma may be able to heal you, but there is no telling what that will do to the baby. Emma has learned to master her powers, she can handle things for a while.” Robin pleaded with her. Every day when she walked out the door, he worried about her. Storybrooke was not exactly the safest place to live. Now, he not only worried about her when she walked out the door, he worried about their unborn child. “Emma may have mastered her powers, but she does not have the experience that I do. I promise I will not go after Jafar until I figure out how to control my powers again. I also will not go after him without backup. Okay?” Regina hoped this would be enough to calm Robin down. “Look, I’m sorry. I just worry about you. All these scenarios of what could have happened if I wasn’t there yesterday keep running through my head.” Robin told her. “I know that you worry, but so do I. I mean neither one of us exactly lead the safest of lives. We are both going to be parents again though. This goes both ways. We just all have to work together and keep each other safe.” Regina reminded him. Robin nodded in agreement as he made room for her to lay down with him on the couch. She laid down next to him as he wrapped his arm around her. “I love you.” Robin told her once they got comfortable. He never doubted that she was aware that he loved her, but after fighting he thought it was important to remind her. “I love you too.” Regina replied as Robin kissed her forehead. They decided to spend the rest of the night relaxing and watching television together until they headed up to bed.

Across town, another group was working on their own research of Jafar…

Emma decided to call Regina first thing in the morning. They spent another hour getting as much information as they could from Aladdin about Jafar before helping him get a room at Granny’s. When Emma got up she called Regina and told her that Aladdin showed up last night and that Jafar had his fiancée. She also told Regina that Jafar was both a genie and a sorcerer but Aladdin doesn’t know where the lamp is. Aladdin watched Emma while he and Hook had already started their research into how to defeat Jafar just so he knew that the information was getting passed along correctly. “Don’t worry mate, if anyone can defeat Jafar and get Jasmine back it’s Emma and Regina,” Hook tells him when he see’s Aladdin watching Emma. She soon joined them after she hung up the phone with Regina. She had, also, given Belle a quick call to update her so the bookworm could continue to her research as well. Snow and Charming were shocked when they entered Emma’s apartment and Aladdin was sitting at the table doing research with their daughter and her boyfriend. Snow, of course, had heard of Aladdin and Jasmine before because of the genie her father had brought home when she was a teenager. They had books sprawled out everywhere, and hadn’t been able to figure out anything about Jafar’s lamp. Aladdin was getting more frustrated as the minutes went by since he just wanted his true love sitting next to him like the two couples he was with. He wonders if he looks at Jasmine the same way that Hook and David look at their respective partners. As much as he wanted to defeat Jafar in order to keep him from coming after them again, ensuring Jasmine would safely return to his arms was his first priority.

They kept looking for ways to rid themselves of Jafar but nothing was coming up in the books they were looking through. The research was leading nowhere they all quickly become aggravated and needed a break. Aladdin decided he was going to go for a walk to clear his head. He also wanted to see if he could find Jasmine. Since Emma was still recovering from being consumed by the darkness she excused herself to her bedroom to lay down. She still was not sleeping well and was having regular nightmares about the acts committed by the previous Dark Ones. A few minutes later Killian joined her on the bed to comfort her. “Swan, are you okay?” Killian asks as Emma curled herself up next to him. “Just tired; what are my parents doing?” Emma looks up at him trying to gauge his reaction. “They are cuddled up on our couch watching some movie called He’s Just Not That Into You. I was getting the sense that David doesn’t like it very much because he just keeps complaining about it being a chick flick? But if you watch him, his eyes grow interested when that Gigi woman is in a scene but I don’t think Mary Margaret notices.” Killian tells her. Emma laughs a bit, picturing her father watching a chick flick before she cuddles closer to Hook. “How long of a break do you think we can get away with?” Emma asks him. Killian glares at her, “Love, get some rest. We aren’t doing anything with your parent’s in our apartment. I don’t want your father to kill me today. So either sleep or we get back to work.”

Killian continued to hold his true love as she took a much needed nap until her mother knocked and opened the door without waiting on a response. “Sorry to interrupt,” Snow whispers, “but Aladdin’s back and we need to get back to the research.” Killian places a short, simple kiss to the crown of Emma’s head before slowly slipping out of her grasp in order to let her rest while they continued with research. He did not want to wake her up just yet. Unlike everyone else in the apartment, he was all too aware of how difficult it had been for Emma to get a good night sleep lately. Emma sighed and rolled over but did not wake up. They were still trying to find a ways to defeat Jafar once and for all. They knew that they needed to not only figure out how to take on his genie side but also his sorcerer side. They hadn’t found anything new when Emma came into the room on her phone. “Okay sounds good, Regina. How about a double date for dessert tomorrow and we can talk more about it,” catching Killian’s eyes, he gave her a slight nod that he is okay with those plans. “See you and Robin tomorrow night then.” Emma says finishing up her phone call and sitting next to Hook. “How was your nap?” he asks with a quick kiss. “It was good, but I am still tired. Would have been better if you had stayed in bed with me.” Emma answered, hoping her father did not hear the last comment. “Okay, so Regina said they have not found much either. She did say that destroying the lamp would in turn at least destroy the genie half of Jafar. Which would be a bit more helpful if we knew where the lamp was. She said they all were getting frustrated, but she was going to work on finding ways to protect Jasmine. Unfortunately, so far everything she has found would actually require us to find Jasmine.” Emma informed the group of what Regina had told her on the phone. Aladdin was happy that someone was specifically focusing on helping Jasmine at the moment. They got back to researching and after a few more hours they were still coming up empty. There had to be something in one of these books that would help them defeat Jafar.

“I’m going to head back to Granny’s and get some sleep. I’ll see you all again soon. Thank you for everything you guys are doing to help my fiancée and I” Aladdin said as he got up and walked to the door. “Bye,” they all called. “So what do we want for dinner? I’m starved.” David asks slamming his book shut, “How about I go get Granny’s and pick up Neal and I’ll bring it back,” he suggests. “Sounds good,” they all reply. After David left the three of them decided to call it quits on the research for the night and just relax in the living room away from the books filled with magic. “So Emma… I don’t know how to bring this up but...” Snow started off cryptic. “Mom, what’s going on? You’re scaring me a little!” Emma interrupts her. “I think Henry is dating someone. I’ve seen him holding hands with a girl around school. I’ve never seen her before so I don’t know when she came to Storybrooke. All I know is she’s about his age, beautiful auburn hair, and green eyes. She really is a beautiful girl. I just thought that you and Regina should know.” Snow tells them. “Lad’s got good taste,” Killian says as his girlfriend gives him an odd look. “All I’m saying is that green eyes can draw you in and never let you go.” Killian kisses Emma. “We’ll talk to Regina about it tomorrow. I don’t think I’m ready for Henry to date. Couldn’t this wait till he was like 30?” Emma tells her mom. Snow laughs, “How do you think I feel? You’re 33 and I am still not ready for you to be dating. No offense Hook.” “Oh none taken.” Hook said, smiling back at the two women.

A little while later, David had just returned with dinner and Neal who had spent the day with Granny and Ruby at the diner, when Belle rushes through the door without even knocking. Emma had been sending texts back and forth with Belle on updates about what she needed to research. After placing a kiss to Neal’s head she started talking, “So I found something but I don’t think it’s going to work. There is an old prophecy about a powerful sorceress and a sorcerer. The only way the sorceress was able to defeat the sorcerer was to use her magic along with the magic of her unborn child, a product of true love, to banish the sorcerer from all the realms. But Emma’s not pregnant and neither is Regina so I don’t think this is going to help much!” Since she kept talking she missed the look shared between the other adults. They finally knew how to get rid of the sorcerer, Jafar. Now if only they could find the lamp to get rid of the genie. Or better yet, just find Jafar. They had been searching the town for weeks and still had not been able to find him. At least it would give them a bit more time to research and come up with a more concrete plan.

Belle said her goodbyes and left the apartment while the other four adults looked at each other with hope that they could finally get rid of Jafar for good. David and Snow gathered their things to leave as Emma held her baby brother on her hip while talking softly and making faces at him that he would try to mimic. “I love you, buddy,” she gave him a hug before passing him off to their mom. “Have a good night. We’ll talk soon,” David says as he and Snow give out hugs and head for the door. After the door closed Killian wrapped his arms around Emma whispering, “That looks good on you.” Emma turns in his arms saying, “What does?” as she kisses him. Killian breaks the kiss long enough to whisper back, “a baby.”


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

When Emma woke up she still could not wrap her head around what Killian had said to her last night after her parents had left with her baby brother. Had she been thinking about the future? Yes. Had she been in constant debate about wanting more kids? Yes. She just could not figure out why it made her worry and become tense when the words “a baby” came out of her true love’s mouth. She moved from his arms and went to make breakfast and start getting ready for the day. It was going to be a busy day. She had to work all day and then they had their double date with Regina and Robin later that night for dessert. Killian had not woken up before Emma needed to leave so she gave him a peck on the cheek and headed to work.

Meanwhile, down the street Regina and Robin were waking up in each other’s arms. “How are you feeling?” Regina asked before giving Robin a kiss. “I feel good, just a little sore. How are you and the baby?” Robin says pulling Regina even closer as their door flies open and Roland comes running in and jumps onto their bed. “Well, good morning my little star,” Regina, says tickling him. “Good morning Mama, and Papa,” he says through a fit of giggles. Henry comes walking slowly in rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Well if it isn’t my little prince,” Regina opens her arms so he could cuddle up next to her. She thought that at 15 he would no longer want to cuddle with his mom but he still loved too. Regina could not get over the feelings of pure happiness and contentment at having all her boys cuddled up in bed with her. Tears of happiness sprang to her eyes as Roland leaned down and kiss her stomach saying, “I love you, baby! Mama, Papa, Henry and I can’t wait to meet you!” After they had all headed downstairs for breakfast Henry comes down the stairs from his room after getting dressed saying, “Mom, I’m going to head over to Emma’s to spend some time with Killian while she is at work. I’ve missed my one on one time with him.” “Okay have fun,” Regina tells him giving him a hug, “How about you and Killian meet us for lunch at Granny’s and then you can take lunch to Emma at the station.” Regina suggested. “Sounds good. Bye Robin, bye Roland,” Henry says walking out the front door. He catches a “Bye Henry” from them both before the door closes and he hops on his bike to make the trip to the apartment. “So Roland, what would you like to do with Papa and I today?” Regina asked as she snuggles up to Robin on the couch. “Park!” He yells running to get his shoes on. “Definitely his father’s child. Always loves to be outside.” Regina said, giving Robin a quick kiss before they both left the couch to chase after their son.

Killian had gotten up shortly after Emma had left. Forgetting that she had to work, he wishes he had gotten up to see her. He could not help but think about the way she reacted to what he said. He never thought he would have all of this and a chance at this future with Emma. He just kept hoping she wanted it too. Killian perked up when he heard knocking at the door and even more when he realized it was Henry and that he wanted to spend the day with him. They decided to spend the day at the docks before meeting Robin, Regina, and Roland for lunch. 

After lunch the boys and Killian took food to Emma at the station. “Emma!” Roland yelled running into her office. Killian could see her beautiful smile as she hugged Roland. He also saw it falter a bit when she caught his eye. “Hello, love,” Killian says giving her a quick kiss, that she didn’t respond to in her usual way. Emma pulled Roland onto her lap and ate her lunch while talking with the boys. Once she finished her lunch, Killian told her he would see her at home for dinner and he headed for the door. He wanted to give her a kiss, but after her reaction to his kiss when they first arrived he thought better of it. “Roland say bye to Emma and go wait with Killian, please,” Henry, asks his little brother. After Roland left the room Henry turned to his mom asking, “Is everything okay with you and Killian? You two haven’t acted this way toward each other since before you started dating.” Henry asked his mother, it was obvious to the perceptive boy that something was off with his mother. “Everything is fine, kid, we just didn’t agree on something last night and things are a bit tense but we will be fine. I promise.” She pulled her son into a hug. “Go hang out with your brother. We’ll talk about this after I talk to Killian, okay?” Emma told him. “Okay, Mom, bye!” Once Henry was out of the room she pulled out her phone to text Killian letting him know that they would talk at dinner and that she loved him. Killian had slowly been getting better at using cell phones. Shortly before becoming The Dark One, Emma had introduced him to the concept of texting. It had taken a while, but slowly he had gotten better at it. He normally responded to her text messages right away, but this time there was no response. Emma worried that she was acting too distant and it was making Killian nervous. She did not mean to push him away, but the comment about babies last night freaked her out. She would talk to him about it tonight, for now she needed to focus and get some work done.

Regina met him at the door, as Henry was getting ready to open it. He was going to spend the rest of the day with her, Robin, and Roland before he babysat Roland for all of his parents to have dessert together. They had dinner together as a family before Henry kindly offered to clean up dinner so his parents could get ready to go. Regina smiled at how grown up her son had become. It was not long ago that just getting him to take his plate to the sink was a challenge.

After Killian had dropped Henry off at Regina and Robin’s he headed home to cook dinner for his swan. He did not know how this talk was going to go but he knew it could be a crazy ride for them both. He had not been sure how to respond to her text message. In the end, he decided it would be better to just wait and talk to her when she got home. He thought about everything that had happened in the last 24 hours and all he knew was that he wanted things back to normal. It bothered him that he was not even entirely sure about what had happened to cause this sudden change in Emma’s demeanor. When Emma came home she did not do anything but wrap her arms around Killian saying, “Before either of us says anything can you just hold me for a minute,” Emma said to him. He complied more than willingly. The fact that she was willing to let him hold her eased his mind a bit. “I’m so sorry, Emma. I’m not entirely sure what I did, but I never want to do anything that would cause you to pull away from me.” Hook started to speak after a few minutes. “It’s okay. It was just the comment about babies, it freaked me out a little bit. I love you and I want to be with you, but I need to sort out my feeling about having more children before I can talk to you more about it. So can we just table the talk of babies for a while? At least until I can sort out my feelings on the matter.” Emma said looking into his eyes. “Yes, love we can,” Killian said kissing her and finally getting the response from her that he loves. They had a quiet, carefree dinner together and were just finishing up the dishes when there was a knock on the apartment door. “Come in,” Emma called as she was putting a dry dish away.

“Well look at that, the pirate can be domestic,” Regina says smirking at Killian. “Any man can be domestic with the right woman. Isn’t that right Robin?” Killian said sending a wink their direction. “I’m staying out of this, you two can continue making jabs at each other,” Robin says before squeezing Regina’s hand and moving towards the living room. “How about we just have dessert and talk about Jafar and Henry.” Emma says joining Robin while letting Regina and Killian serve up dessert. Regina froze though looking at Emma worried, “Henry?” she questioned Emma. “Come on Regina, we’ll discuss him after Jafar. It’s not anything bad. Snow just mentioned something I thought we should all be aware of.” Emma says not calming Regina’s nerves. “Fine, we know we need the lamp to get rid of his genie half but we didn’t find anything about his sorcerer side. We also have to figure out how to destroy the lamp once we find it” Robin fills them in as Killian and Regina come in with dessert for him and Emma before sitting down next to their respective partners. “Well we don’t know where the lamp is and Aladdin is stumped on that too. But Belle found something about the sorcerer side. There is an old prophecy about a powerful sorceress being able to pull from her powers and her unborn child’s powers to defeat the sorcerer with light magic since the baby is the product of true love.” Emma explains to Robin and Regina. “Wait a minute, are you saying Regina has to do this?,” Robin asks as Emma nods, “Then no find another way! We aren’t putting her and the baby at risk.” he replies.

“Robin, we talked about this.” Regina starts taking his hand, “I finally have control over my powers again. The baby and I will be fine. It’s light magic. We’ll have Emma as backup. Please just trust me on this?” Regina tried to reassure him. “Okay, sweetheart, I’ll trust you to do what is best for you and the baby. It just worries me, so please be careful.” Robin said giving her a kiss on her head. He was not entirely sure about this plan, but he would be there and could do everything in his power to protect her and the baby. “Okay, now what is going on with Henry?” Regina asks moving on from Jafar. “Love, may I?” Killian asks Emma, without a word she squeezes his hand and nods. “We believe the lad may be dating someone and hasn’t talked to any of us.” Regina’s eyes go wide before Robin says, “I had a feeling… I’ve seen them together at school.” Regina stood with hands on her hips glaring at her fiancé; “You what? And didn’t bother to tell me, your fiancée, mother of your sons?” Robin sits her back down, “I knew he would tell us when he was ready and you have enough stress on you with Jafar.” Robin responded, although the look in her eyes still made him worry she might burn him to a crisp with a fireball later. “Well we need to talk to him about it,” Regina says. “How about the boys come join us. I’ll go get them,” Killian says heading to get his coat. He wanted to give Henry a fighting chance in this situation. He figured he was the most level headed about this and could talk to him about it on the way over to give the lad some time to prepare for the craziness that was about to ensue.

When Hook got back with the boys, they set Roland up with his dessert and a movie while the other five took seats at the table. Henry nervously ate his dessert, he could see the looks specifically on his moms’ faces that told him he was in trouble. “Look, I know I did not tell you guys, but we just started getting to know each other. I really like her and I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I just wasn’t sure how to bring it up” Henry said looking at his four parents, he was glad Killian had given him a heads up before throwing him to the wolves. “Henry, we understand, but these are things you have to talk to us about.” Emma tells him. “Just tell us about her lad, that’s all we ask,” Killian said calmly to the boy who didn’t want to look at his parents. “She’s the daughter of Ariel and Prince Eric. She was nine when you enacted the curse and because of her being half human, half mermaid she was able to live under the sea with King Triton but didn’t age just like everyone else. Once the curse broke and you guys helped her mom find her dad; they were living in their kingdom but there are no other kids her age and her parents wanted to give her a normal life so they came to Storybrooke to give her just that. I really like her and you can meet her soon, I promise,” Henry says finishing his speech. “I like her, too,” Roland yells from the living room causing Henry to be even more nervous. “Wait, Roland’s met her too?” Regina asked. Henry nodded with a guilty look on his face. ”Look Henry, in the future can you please just talk to us about these things so we do not have to find out from your grandmother? Not that we do not trust your judgement it’s just that in this town we have to be a bit more careful. Do you understand?” Regina told her son. She had definitely been angry when she first found out, but had taken the time while the others spoke to him to calm down. Otherwise, she probably would have yelled at him. “I understand mom and I’m sorry. I just wasn’t sure how to talk to you guys about this.” Henry replied. “Look you are getting older and things are bound to come up that you don’t want to talk to us about. We just want to keep you safe, you are still our little boy even though you may not think so. Just know that you can talk to any of us about anything.” Emma told him. All of the other adults nodded in agreement. They ended the night and went their separate ways. Henry decided he wanted to stay the night with Emma and Killian. They all went to bed that night happy to finally have an almost completed plan to defeat Jafar and Henry being honest with them.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 

Regina and Robin were excited, she was now 16 weeks pregnant and they were heading to an ultrasound where they would find out the gender of their baby. Recently, Regina had begun to feel the baby move which was one of the strangest and, yet, greatest feelings in the world. The baby, even, gave a little kick when Robin placed his hand on her stomach to feel it. She had also developed a little baby bump, it wasn’t much and most of her clothes still fit, but it continued to grow each day. They had debated about whether they wanted to find out what they were having. Robin argued that if they were still in the Enchanted Forest, they would just have to wait for the surprise when the baby was born. Regina argued that they were not in the Enchanted Forest anymore and they had the technology to find out. She wanted to be able to buy gender specific clothes and decorate the nursery accordingly. Eventually, Robin agreed to find out. He had to admit he was really curious about what they were having. They had chosen to have a 3D ultrasound in order to get a clearer picture of the baby. The boys were coming with them so they could find out if they were getting a little brother or sister. Henry was chatting with Roland in the backseat about everything he had missed while he was staying at Emma’s the previous week.

It had been a stressful few weeks trying to figure out what to do about Jafar. They had been doing a lot of research and were slowly starting to finish the plan to take on Jafar. Thankfully, no one else had a confrontation with him since the time when Robin got hurt. Regina had been taking this time to regain control over her powers. She had figured out how to master them again, but sometimes when her hormones got involved she still struggled with them a bit. At least Emma still had complete control of her powers, together the two of them made a good team.

When they arrived at the hospital Regina checked in. In such a small town there were not really any doctor’s offices. It was just Dr. Whale at the hospital. They had an office on the first floor away from the busy activity of the actual hospital where they would have the ultrasound done. When they called Regina’s name, the whole family followed the nurse into the room where they would have the ultrasound. Regina took off her jacket and handed it and her purse to Robin before lifting up her shirt to expose her abdomen as the nurse placed a paper apron at her waist. Once she was set up Robin took Regina’s hand while the boys sat in chairs against the wall where they could still see the ultrasound screen. Dr. Whale squeezed the cold ultrasound gel onto her stomach which made Regina shiver a little bit. He then placed the wand on Regina’s abdomen and started to show them the baby’s features. “Here’s the baby’s face. It looks like they are sucking their thumb at the moment. Everything looks good, the baby seems to be the right size for 16 weeks and everything looks completely normal. Now let’s see whether you are having a boy or a girl.” the doctor told them. Regina squeezed Robin’s hand a bit tighter, she was excited to find out the baby’s gender, but at the end of the day the most important part was that the baby was healthy. Dr. Whale expertly moved the wand around, trying to get a good view that would reveal the baby’s gender. Finally he found one, “It looks like you guys are going to be having a little girl.” he told them. “My queen and my little princess.” Robin said as he leaned in and gave Regina a kiss. “We’re having a little girl.” Regina said as happy tears filled her eyes. The boys were both smiling from ear to ear in the corner. The doctor gave them a moment to enjoy the news before asking “How about we listen to the baby’s heartbeat?”. Regina nodded her head. It took a moment to find, but once they did their little girl’s heartbeat sounded fast and strong. “It appears you have a completely healthy little girl in there.” Dr. Whale told them. At this news, Robin gave Regina another kiss. “Everything looks good, so I will see you guys in a month for another check-up.” Dr. Whale told them before leaving the room. The nurse wiped the remaining gel from Regina’s stomach before Robin helped her to get up from the exam table. Right before they left the nurse handed them several pictures of their little girl from the ultrasound. Robin and Regina wrapped an arm around each other as Regina took Roland’s hand and they left the hospital.

As soon as they got home, the boys ran off to go play a video game together. Henry had recently gotten Roland hooked on one of his games. This left Regina and Robin alone to debate about baby names. Regina grabbed the baby name book from the coffee table. They had been debating baby names for weeks and now at least they can eliminate all of the boy names. “What about Cora?” Robin asked, mostly joking. “Please tell me you are joking. This child is already stuck having my mother as a relative. I will not further condemn her by having them share the same name.” Regina told him. Robin could not help but laugh, which told Regina he had been kidding. “How about Adeline?” Regina asked. “That’s definitely one of my favorites.” Robin replied. “I also really like the name Genevieve.” Robin told her. “Me too, I will add that to the list too.” Regina responded. Anytime they both agreed that they really liked a name, they would write it down so they could keep track. “What about Hattie?” Robin asked. “I am not really a fan of that one.” Regina replied. “Annabeth is a pretty name.” Regina countered. “I like it, add that one to the list.” Robin told her. They spent the next hour continuing to debate names. The current list included Adeline, Genevieve, Annabeth, Clara, Tanith, and Adelaide. Thankfully they had a while before they had to actually pick one.

They spent the rest of the day relaxing together at home as a family. The boys spent most of the day playing video games. Regina and Robin relaxed on the couch watching movies and looking at baby items they needed on the internet. It had been a while since Henry was a baby and Roland was living in the Enchanted Forest as a baby so they were pretty much starting from scratch. Around dinner time Robin ran out to pick up Granny’s since neither of them really felt like cooking that night. After dinner the boys went back to playing video games, but Regina warned them that they could play for another two hours and then it was time for bed.

A few hours and arguments later, both boys were asleep in bed. Roland did not want to stop playing video games with Henry so when it was time for bed he had given them a hard time. Regina and Robin finally made it to their bedroom. They laid in bed kissing playfully and it was pretty clear where the night was heading. “I love this side of you.” Robin told her in between kisses. “It’s the stinking pregnancy hormones. It makes me want to be with you all the time. Not that it’s much of a change from normal.” Regina replied, her kisses becoming hungrier. Robin began to kiss her neck, knowing exactly what she wanted. A moment later their door came flying open, which was enough to get their attention and stop them from kissing. Roland ran into their room and climbed into their bed crawling straight into Regina’s arms. “What happened buddy?” Robin asked. “I had a nightmare.” Roland replied, burying his face into Regina’s chest. “About what sweetie?” Regina was trying to get the boy to tell them more. “It was about mama and the scary man you guys talked to outside of Granny’s. He was hurting mama.” Roland said still attempting to bury his face farther into Regina’s chest. Regina was rubbing Roland’s back as she shared a worried look with Robin. They could both tell he was terrified. “Hey, mama’s just fine and I promise I won’t let the scary man do anything to hurt her. Okay buddy.” Robin said trying to soothe their son. “Okay, but can I sleep with you guys tonight?” Roland whimpered. “Of course you can my little star.” Regina told him, planting a kiss on the top of his head. Robin pulled the covers down far enough that Roland could crawl underneath of them. The little boy barely loosened his grip on Regina to do so before immediately cuddling up close to her again. Robin placed a kiss on his son’s head before giving Regina a quick sweet kiss. “Well this is not exactly how I was expecting the night to go.” Regina whispered to Robin. Robin just winked at her before moving closer to Regina and Roland, wrapping his arms around them both.

The next morning Regina had just finished getting ready when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to find Aladdin standing on her porch. “Aladdin, how can I help you?” Regina asked, stepping aside and inviting Aladdin in. “Look, I know we have been trying, but I cannot let Jasmine spend another day with Jafar. I know we are not ready to take on Jafar quite yet, but we have to save her.” Aladdin responded to her question. His voice was shaky as he spoke and it was clear to Regina he was starting to panic. They had been trying for weeks, but had not come up with a safe way to save Jasmine. They also had yet to locate where Jafar had been hiding out. “Maybe there is something we have been overlooking. Let me grab Robin and call the others. We can get everyone to head out and do another search of the town. To be honest, it seemed odd to me that we have not found him yet. I just cannot quite put my finger on why.” Regina replied. She and Robin headed out together, leaving Henry to watch Roland. Aladdin had already headed out. Snow and Charming were going to search the north side of the woods, while Robin and Regina were searching the south side. Hook and Emma were going to search down by the docks again. They had already searched all of these areas and turned up empty, but Regina insisted they try again. This town was not that big, it seemed almost impossible that they had not found Jafar yet. They spent hours searching their designated areas and were still turning up with nothing.

Just as they were about to call it quits, Regina sensed something in the area her and Robin were currently searching. There was some kind of magic occurring nearby. It was a sense that Regina had developed with her years of experience. Regina had not gone out on the previous searches for Jafar and this would be something that could easily have been overlooked. She picked up a rock and threw it in the direction she was sensing the magic coming from. When the rock disappeared in mid-air, Regina realized what was going on. “A cloaking spell and a very powerful one. That’s why no one has been able to find him.” Regina said to Robin. “Can you take it down?” Robin asked. “Do you know who you are talking to?” Regina replied. “Yes, my beautiful fiancée who is going to have this cloaking spell down soon.” Robin said giving her a sweet kiss before pulling out his phone to call the others. Regina immediately got to work on taking down the cloaking spell.

Snow and Charming were the first to meet up with them, followed closely by Emma and Hook as well as Aladdin. “I’m sorry we did not find this sooner Aladdin.” Emma told him. “No worries, I just hope this means I can finally get Jasmine back.” Aladdin replied. “And now there is no longer a cloaking spell in our way.” Regina told them all as the cloaking spell came down revealing an abandon building. “Okay, we have to be smart about this. We cannot just go charging in there if Jafar is around. That will just end with a lot of people getting hurt. Dad and Hook go see if you can look in some windows and try to find out if Jafar is in there. The rest of us will follow close behind and look for a way to get in.” Emma told the group. Once they got close enough to the building, there was no sign of Jafar. The others had found two different entrances to the building so they decided to split in half and enter at the same time. Even though it did not appear that Jafar was around they still took their time and tried to stay as quiet as possible while searching the building. Aladdin and Hook were the first to find Princess Jasmine. “Oh my god, Jasmine! Are you okay?” Aladdin said as he ran towards the cage she was locked in. “Yeah I’m fine. I would just really like to get out of here.” Jasmine replied. Aladdin tried pulling on the cage door to see if he could break the lock. He knew this was pointless, but he just wanted Jasmine safely in his arms. Just then Regina and the rest of the group found them. Emma immediately got to work on picking the lock and Regina was making sure there were no spells placed on the cage. As soon as Emma was able to open the cage Jasmine immediately ran into Aladdin’s arms. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Aladdin asked placing his hands on her cheeks. “Aladdin, I’m fine. I promise.” Jasmine said before pulling him in for a passionate kiss. “I hate to break up this reunion, but we need to get out of here before Jafar comes back.” Regina told the group. She knew they were not ready to take him on quite yet and she did not want to have a repeat of the last time they faced off. They all immediately headed out of the building. It was almost dinner time so the group decided to all meet at Granny’s for dinner in about an hour.

Dinner did not last long since the whole group was exhausted after spending all day searching for Jasmine. Thankfully, they finally were able to rescue her. All of the kids had tagged along as well and it was approaching most of their bedtimes. Aladdin spent most of dinner watching Jasmine. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Now that she was back by his side, he made a promise to himself to never let her leave his side again. The group had decided that Aladdin and Jasmine would stay with Emma and Hook since they had a spare room and Emma could protect them using her powers if necessary. “Before everyone leaves we just wanted to thank all of you for helping to get Jasmine back safely.” Aladdin told the group. “No problem, now we just need to get rid of Jafar once and for all.” Hook replied. Everyone said their goodbyes, before parting ways to head home.

Back at the abandon building Jafar and Iago returned. “Wait, why can we see the building?” Iago asked. “I don’t know, but I am going to find out.” Jafar replied as he rushed towards the building. As soon as they entered, Jafar immediately went to check on Jasmine. “She’s gone, they got her back!” Jafar yelled. “We knew they were going to do everything they could to get her back. That’s why we left here to make sure she didn’t know anything about our plans.” Iago said trying to calm Jafar down. “You’re right Iago. She was not essential to our plans and was becoming more of an annoyance than anything else.” Jafar replied to the parrot. Now he could focus on the new plan he had formulated. They had spent the last several weeks learning everything they could about this town and it’s residence. After what happened when they faced off with the mayor, they knew that in order to have a chance they needed to know everything about their opponent. They had been hiding in the shadows, away from prying eyes learning everything they could. Now that they had a much better idea of who they were dealing with, this town would be Jafar’s to rule.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 

The weeks seemed to continue flying by as they all worked together to make sure that they were able to defeat Jafar. The past week or so Emma had not been feeling well, but let it go and did not think anything of it. At least not until she looked at the calendar on her phone and realized she had missed yet another period. She did not want to admit it weeks ago but she thinks that’s why she tensed up when Killian had said that a baby looked good on her. She wanted to believe she had missed her first period due to stress and finally having the Dark One out but now she was going to have to admit to herself it’s probably more. Sitting at her desk in the sheriff station a wave of nausea washed over her and this time she couldn’t keep it at bay and quickly reached for her trash can. “Em, are you okay?” her dad asks from his desk just outside her door. “Yeah, Dad, I’m fine,” Emma tells him wiping her mouth. “Go home and rest, sweetheart. It’s slow here anyway and I’ll call Killian or Robin if anything comes up.” David tells her as he hands Emma her coat and car keys. “Thanks Dad. I’ll be back in tomorrow.” Emma says giving him a hug. “Take as much time as you need,” he replies as she heads out the door. 

On her way home Emma stopped by the pharmacy to get the pregnancy test; she never thought she would need this again, at least not for another couple of years. As she paid for the test she was thankful that Killian had decided to spend his morning at the docks; she wasn’t quite ready to have the conversation with him just yet. After arriving back at the apartment, she took the test and changed into one of Killian’s t-shirts, before crawling into their bed and setting the timer on her phone. When the timer went off she did not look; she rolled over, curled into Killian’s pillow and fell asleep. She awoke when Killian came in calling for her, “Love, are you feeling okay? I stopped by the station but David said you came home sick,” Killian came into their room sounding worried. As he came over to sit on her side with her he spotted the test, “What is this with a plus sign on it?” Emma bolted up right which caused her to have to rush to the bathroom so she did not get sick in their bedroom. “Swan, what’s wrong? Please tell me.” She could tell her boyfriend was ready to freak out so all she said was, “I think it’s time we had that conversation about our future that we tabled a few weeks back,” she finished brushing her teeth before heading into their room to grab the test before going to the kitchen to make herself some lunch. 

As they entered the living space Killian told Emma to sit on the couch and he would bring her lunch. Emma did as she was told and curled up on the couch staring at the positive pregnancy test; she realized she needed to make a doctor’s appointment. Picking up the phone she decided she might as well schedule the appointment now. When someone answered she made sure they could get her in later the same day. Killian walked in as she was ending the call; “Love, who were you talking to?” “The doctors office,” she says before taking a bite of the grilled cheese Killian had brought her from Granny’s, “I think I need to go today to have myself checked.” Emma replied with Killian still giving her a very confused look, “The subject and conversation we chose to table for the time being was us having a baby so I don’t understand what is going on.” he managed to say through his confusion. Emma took a deep breathe, reached for the test, and turned to look at her true love, “This test is a positive pregnancy test, Killian.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she could see the shock in Killian’s face. “We’re going to have a baby? But we’ve been careful especially since you won’t let us make love without… a condom,” Killian says all confused about how this happened remembering how Emma had explained to him what a condom was. “They aren’t always 100% preventative, so yes, I’m going to the doctor today,” Emma tells him as she moves to get dressed. “No love, WE are going to the doctor. This is my child too and I will always be there for him or her. Even if you don’t want me there.” This statement causes Emma to freeze where she is at and turns to look at Killian. She could see the hurt and unshed tears she had caused him and felt terrible for how she was treating him. Walking back to Hook, she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug; it took him awhile to hug her back but when he did she heard Killian whisper, “I love you Emma, and I will love this baby no matter what.” Emma turned her head to look at him, “I love you too,” she says right before crashing her lips to his, “The baby, Henry, and I are lucky to have you.” Emma whispers pulling away from his lips for a quick second. 

After Emma had gotten dressed and they headed to the doctor they both realized they were thankful that Aladdin and Jasmine had decided to spend the day with Robin while Regina and Emma were at work. Once Emma had checked in she began to get nervous, the last time she had done this she was 17, all alone, and in jail. At least this time she had the father at her side, who just happened to live with her and be her True Love. Waiting in the chairs in the waiting room she reached over and grabbed onto Hook’s hand, lacing their fingers together, “I love you, Killian. I wouldn’t want to be doing this with anyone but you,” she whispered kissing him on the cheek. “Emma Swan,” the nurse called her back, “what seems to be the problem?” the nurse asked. “I think I’m pregnant,” Emma tells her as she feels Hook squeeze her hand. After doing a blood test they waited on results when Dr. Whale came in to tell them he wanted to do an internal ultrasound since Emma was pregnant but her hormone levels were higher than he expected. As Whale is doing the ultrasound Emma and Killian hear him say, “Yep, that’s just what I figured.” Dr. Whale said to the nervous pair. “What do you see Whale?” Hooks asks sounding worried, kissing Emma on the head to not only keep her calm but also his own nerves. Turning the screen toward the couple so they could see, he says, “ You’re having twins.” “TWINS!” Emma exclaimed staring at Killian, who just starred at the screen. “Swan, we’re having two babies!” Killian said leaning down to kiss his love. While they were staring at the screen and each other Whale had left the room. Leaning down next to Emma’s stomach Hook said, “I love you both and your mommy so much. Grow nice and strong inside mommy.” He finished by placing two sweet little kisses to her belly before moving up and placing a passionate kiss to Emma’s lips.

On the way home Emma could not help but still be extremely nervous. One hand on the steering wheel she placed the other over her stomach when she felt Killian place his hand over her’s. She could not help but smile; thankful she had this man by her side. As Emma pulled up to the apartment Aladdin and Jasmine were headed back too. Emma and Hook had both agreed they were not ready to tell anyone yet. “Good afternoon,” Jasmine says as Emma and Killian got out of the bug. “Good afternoon, Jasmine,” Emma replied as she grabbed Killian’s hand, “Would you two like to join us for family dinner at Granny’s?” Emma asks. “No, thank you. You guys have fun with your family,” Aladdin tells them. “Aladdin, you and Jasmine have become family. Just come with us,” Killian tells them. They agree and the two couples head to Granny’s. As they arrived the rest of the crew was waiting at the tables when they walked in. But the minute Emma stepped in and smelled hamburgers she had to rush to the bathroom. Killian followed but what he did not realize was that Regina had also followed them. “Guyliner, let me,” Regina said as Killian’s hand was on the door handle. He hesitantly stepped aside to allow Regina through after managing to curb his impulse to fire a snarky comment back after she called him guyliner.

“Swan, are you okay?” She hears Regina ask behind her. “I’ll be fine, I just need to not have dinner here,” Emma tells her with a chuckle, “And all I really want is a grilled cheese.” she continues her reply between the waves of nausea. “Emma, how far along are you?” Regina asks her while helping her up. “What are you talking about?” Emma answers trying to keep it hidden. “Come on Emma. I know another pregnant woman when I see her.” Regina lets out her own chuckle. “I’m 8 weeks. We just got back from the doctor before heading here.” Emma gives in and tells her but Regina can tell she’s still hiding something. “Emma, you’re not telling me something.” Regina enquires, giving the blonde a questioning look. “Is Killian outside the door?” Emma asks, Regina nods opening the door. “Love, are you okay? What do you need? Are the babies okay?” Killian starts freaking out. “Babies?” Regina questions them, shocked. “Sorry, love,” Killian whispers to Emma. “It’s okay, Killian,” Emma kisses him on the cheek before turning to Regina, “Yes, Regina, babies. I’m pregnant with twins.”

After congratulations Regina gave Emma a spell that will help with the nausea and smells. Emma could finally go out into the diner. “Sweetheart, are you okay? Should you really be here?” Charming asks her worried just like earlier. “I’m fine, Dad. Don’t worry so much,” Emma smirks at him showing she’s kidding with him. Soon the family was headed home in different directions; Regina, Robin and Roland in one direction; Charming, and Snow in another with Neal; and Emma, Killian, Henry, Aladdin, and Jasmine headed back to the apartment. “Mom, are you sure you’re okay?” Henry looks at her worried, “You look really tired.” “Yeah, kid, I’m okay,” she says putting her arm, that was not holding Killian’s hand, around him. When they get to the apartment Jasmine and Aladdin excuse themselves for bed while the rest of them go to change into comfortable clothes before they curl up on the couch to watch a movie. As Emma was making popcorn and hot chocolate she was nervous about telling Henry she’s pregnant. “Killian, will you come help me?” She waited on him to get to the counter. “How do we tell Henry?” “Love, we just need to tell him. He will take it fine,” KIllian reassures her before giving her a kiss, that Henry interrupts by saying, “Hey, are we going to watch a movie or should I go to bed so you can continue to make-out.” He does not look up from book he is reading until the microwave dings; something on the coffee table caught his eye. Picking it up and looking at it he stood and turned to look at Emma and Hook, “Mom?”

Looking up at her son when she hears the worry and hesitation in his voice she is shocked to see what is in his hands. “Henry, lad, where did you find that?” Killian is the first to speak. “Find? You can’t find something that is sitting right in front of you, Hook.” Henry says with attitude. “Henry!” Emma exclaims in order to get him to be quiet, “You do not and will not ever speak to Killian that way again.” “Love, it’s fine,” Killian says grabbing her hand. “No, it’s not Killian. He knows better and it won’t happen again; will it Henry?” She says staring her son down. “No, Mom, it won’t. I’m sorry, Killian.” Henry says sincerely, “Can someone please explain why there is a positive pregnancy test in our apartment.” Emma moves with the popcorn around to Henry. Handing him the popcorn and taking the test from his hands. She leads him to the couch and Killian follows with their hot chocolate. Since Emma could not seem to make words Killian said, “Because, lad, your mom is pregnant.” Henry looks at his mom and could see the worry in her eyes, taking her free hand he says, “Mom, I’m happy for you. I’m glad your getting another chance and I’m glad it’s with Killian. It was just a lot for me to take with both my mom’s being pregnant. How far along are you?” Emma pulls her son into a hug, “I love you, kid. I’m glad you’re okay with this. I’m eight weeks, so about two months behind Regina but there is more. “ Henry nods telling her to continue. “We went to the doctor today and we found out I’m pregnant with twins.” Emma explains. Henry’s jaw drops and he has no words except “Wow!”

They had a little bit more of a conversation before they finally settled in to watch the movie. Once the movie was over the group headed to bed. Henry went right to sleep because of a long week at school. Emma and Hook, on the other hand, stayed up cuddling, talking, and stealing kisses before exhaustion hit and they fell asleep with Emma lying halfway on top of Killian. The next morning Killian woke to no Emma in his arms and noises coming from the master bathroom. Getting up he went and held Emma’s hair out of the way, “Killian, you shouldn’t have to see this.” Emma told him. “Love, I’m not going anywhere.” he replied. After cleaning herself up Emma and Killian went out to make breakfast when Aladdin and Jasmine came running out of the guest room. “Emma, we have the lamp,” Aladdin exclaimed holding it up. Without a word Emma grabs her cell and waits for the person on the other end to answer, “Regina we have the lamp!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Well, we all made it through the premiere of Season 5! :) We know that Emma’s and Regina’s lives are taking on parallels at the moment but we wanted to do it on purpose. Don’t worry though they won’t stay in parallel through the whole fic. When we were outlining these chapter we realized we wanted the same things for both couples, at least to an extent. Hope you are all enjoying this story. Keep the follows, favorite, and reviews coming! Thank you for reading. ~ YankeeGrl27


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

“Wait are you sure? And it is definitely his lamp?” Regina asked while she was talking on the phone with Emma. “Okay Miss Swan, I can fill Robin in and then have someone come over to watch the boys. How about everyone meets at my vault in an hour?” she told Emma before hanging up the phone. “Hey sweetheart, who’s on the phone?” Robin called to her from the other room. “That was Emma. The lamp appeared in Aladdin’s bag, kind of like how the storybook appears to the one who needs it most. I am going to call Ruby to see if she can pick up Henry and then come over and stay with the boys. We are going to meet everyone at my vault in an hour.” Regina replied before going off to call Ruby. Robin had been laying on the couch watching television, so he got up to get ready and collect his bow and arrow. Once Ruby arrived, Regina and Robin gave both boys hugs. While they were confident their plan would work, it was still dangerous. A small part of Robin worried this could be the last time he hugs his children, but he knew he had to block these negative thoughts out of his mind if they are going to succeed.

The pair had decided to drive instead of just poof to the vault so Regina could save her energy for the magic she would have to use to defeat Jafar. Before Regina and Robin made it all the way to the car, he stopped her in her tracks pulling her into his arms. “Are you sure you can do this?” Robin asked as he held her. Regina pushed him away feeling slightly offended. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Regina said, her tone and facial expressions letting him know that he had upset her. “I’m not saying I don’t believe in you. I know you can do anything you set your mind to. I’m just worried okay. We still haven’t tested your powers with something this big yet. I wish every once in awhile we could just lead boring lives.” Robin replied. Regina thought about his response, realizing what he said was out of fear for her safety and the safety of their unborn child. Her expression softened before she pulled him into a loving kiss. “I promise I can do this. Even if something goes wrong with my powers we have back-up plans.” she told him, before giving him one more gentle kiss. They got in the car and spent the drive to her vault in a comfortable silence, holding each other’s hand to comfort the other.

20 minutes later the two of them arrived at Regina’s vault. Hook and Emma were already there with Aladdin and Jasmine. Snow and Charming arrived shortly after Regina and Robin, having dropped Neal off with Belle. Regina led everyone down into her vault and began to hand out vials of various colored potions. “These are potions I have been working on ever since my powers were not working properly. While I feel that I have mastered them again, I did not want to take any chances. The purple ones will replicate the effects of a fireball. If you use the green one, it will stun your opponent for approximately 30 seconds. The red one will create a temporary cloaking spell in the immediate area around you. If you need to get out of harm’s way as a last resort, use the blue one. It will allow you to disappear in a puff of smoke and will bring you right back here to my vault.” Regina explained to the group. She then handed out two of each type of potion to each person except Emma. She figured Emma could use her powers as long as the babies were not starting to mess with them yet. The group then heads out to look for Jafar at his hideout.

They approached the building cautiously, splitting up between the two entrances. Once they gained access to the building they realized that Jafar was not there. “Now what?” Snow asked the group. “Let’s split up and look for him in the woods around here. Aladdin and Jasmine can go with Robin and Regina, Emma and Hook can go together, and Snow you can come with me.” Charming instructed as he handed out walkie talkies to the group. They all nodded in agreement with the plan and headed out to start searching the woods. After about 45 minutes, Snow and Charming spotted Iago. They followed the parrot and quickly found Jafar. They ducked out of site and radioed to the others that they found him. Regina quickly poofed her, Robin, Jasmine, and Aladdin to where Emma and Hook were. Then she brought the whole group to where Snow and Charming were.

The group managed to spread out and surround Jafar before making their presence known. “Did you miss me Jafar?” Jasmine teased him as the group came out from the their hiding places behind trees and brush. “Of course, but I am a bit busy at the moment. In case you hadn’t noticed.” he snapped back at her. Charming and Hook drew their swords, while Robin and Snow pulled out their bows ready to fire. Regina immediately got to work on drawing from the baby’s powers so she could work on destroying the sorcerer part of Jafar. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was distracting Jafar with various means of attack, protecting Regina and giving her as much time as they could. Emma was throwing fireballs at Jafar, a power she had retained from her time as the Dark One, while Robin shot an arrow at Iago. 

When Regina finally felt like she had adequately combined her light magic with the baby’s, she shot a stream of powers at Jafar in an attempt to destroy the sorcerer part of Jafar. It amazed Regina to see her combination of dark and light magic mixing with what appeared to be the pure light magic of her child. Jafar was able to break free from the magic being shot at him and Regina was thrown backwards. Thankfully, Robin was quick and was able to catch her before she hit the ground. He helped her back to her feet and held onto her hands to allow her to regain her balance as the rest of the group continued to attack Jafar. Unfortunately, the group was distracted just long enough by Regina being thrown back that Jafar was able to summon his lamp to him. 

“I don’t get it. That should have worked.” Robin told her before placing another arrow in his bow to fire at Jafar. “It’s okay. I have an idea.” Regina told him before disappearing in a puff of smoke and reappearing next to Emma. “Swan, I think we need to combine our powers and the babies’ powers in order to do this.” Regina told her. “I have no idea how to draw on the babies’ powers.” Emma replied. “You don’t have a choice, clearly my powers and the baby’s powers alone are not enough. I think if both of us do it, then it should be enough to take out the sorcerer in him.” Regina paused for a moment to throw a fireball at Jafar just as he was aiming to throw a fireball at Snow. “Just focus all of your energy on the babies and combining your powers. When you are ready we will both hit him at the same time. Okay?” Regina explained to Emma. Emma nodded and Regina could see the blonde was focusing.

Charming and Snow exchanged confused looks and then it registered that their daughter was also pregnant if Regina was asking for her help. They did not have time to to give it much thought before they had to turn their attention back to battling Jafar. It took Emma a few minutes so Regina joined the group in attacking Jafar to buy Emma some extra time. The group continued to attack Jafar from all sides with a constant stream of arrows and fireballs both from Regina and from the potions she gave to the group. At the same time Hook and Charming fought off Iago with their swords. The parrot may be small, but he was putting up quite a fight. The two men had the scratches and bite marks to prove it. Emma finally turned to Regina and said she was ready. Regina immediately pulled on the baby’s powers and combined them with her own. She was able to do so much faster this time. She then nodded to Emma.

The two women hit Jafar from behind with two streams of power. Immediately the group could tell this was working. Enough so that Jafar dropped the lamp. This is when something very surprising happened. Iago picked up the lamp and brought it over to Aladdin. “It is pretty clear to me Jafar is outnumbered here. I don’t want to go down with this guy.” Iago said before flying off. Just then Jafar collapsed to the ground telling the group that Regina and Emma were successful in removing his sorcerer half. Immediately Aladdin held up the lamp and said “Jafar, I command you to return to your lamp.” Due to Jafar now being only a genie they could easily summon him into his lamp. It took a few seconds, but Jafar was sucked into the lamp. “Ultimate cosmic power… Itty bitty living space.” Jasmine said once he was contained in the lamp. “Are you guys ready for this?” Regina asked taking the lamp from Aladdin. Aladdin and Jasmine both nodded and took each other’s hands. They had endured Jafar and the trouble he caused far longer than anyone else. Regina placed the lamp on the ground and threw a fireball at it. They all watched as the lamp burned and became a pile of ashes. As a group they took a collective deep breath realizing that yet another nightmare was finally over.

After Emma and Regina were done defeating Jafar, Charming decided he couldn’t hold his emotions in anymore. “YOU’RE PREGNANT!” he yells at his grown daughter. “Charming,” Snow says with warning in her voice giving her husband a “don’t push our daughter away” look. “Yes, Mom and Dad, I’m pregnant. We just found out yesterday,” Emma says searching for Killian’s hand finally finding it, “Please be okay with this. Henry found out last night and didn’t take it well when he first found out.” Regina looks at Emma and Killian asking, “How did he react? He handled finding out I was pregnant just fine.” she questioned the pair. Killian looks at Emma shaking his head about not telling Regina and Robin. “Hook, they deserve to know. They are his parents too.” Killian nods before Emma turns to Regina and Robin saying, “He saw the pregnancy test because we forgot to hide it and he gave Killian attitude and flipped out on…” “Someone needs to,” Charming interrupted Emma. “Really Dad! I’m 33 years old! My 15 year old should not talk to anyone the way he spoke to Killian last night!” Regina sighed hearing what her son did, “Miss Swan is right, David. Henry had no right to talk to Hook the way he did. I’m sorry for the way Henry treated you.” Regina said. Emma looked over at her son’s other mother, “Regina, don’t worry about it. It was handled and he apologized.” 

Everyone was quiet for a few seconds before Charming takes a deep breath saying, “I love you, Emma and I’m happy you found your true love but a baby, really?” He tries to say this as calmly as possible to his daughter. “Dad, I already have a teenager and I’m living with my boyfriend . Did you think we were sleeping in separate rooms?” Emma rolled her eyes avoiding saying anything else when Regina lets out a chuckle and everyone looks at her, “What? Knowing Emma and Killian, you should have known it wasn’t just sleeping going on in their bed. Even now they can’t seem to keep their hands to themselves,” she nods toward Killian and Emma; who have their arms around each other and holding their other hand, fingers laced together. They are whispering back and forth, ignoring everything going on around them. “Why does it feel like he’s not happy for us,” Emma whispers to Killian before she realizes everyone around them had stopped talking she looked up and instantly blushed. “Look, sweetheart, I am happy for you but I just wish this was happening differently,” Charming says in a more casual tone. 

“Dad, the Dark One is banished for good, I have a healthy, happy teenager, a loving boyfriend, amazing friends, an adorable baby brother and my parents are Snow White and Prince Charming. There is nothing else I could be more happy about in my life except these babies,” Emma says placing her hand on her stomach. “Babies?” Snow exclaims as Emma realized her slip and turns her head toward Killian shying away from having to answer her mother. “Yes, Snow, we are having twins.” at this statement from Hook, David walks away from the group toward the tree Baby Emma came through. Emma followed her father but what neither of them knew was that everyone followed.

“Dad, please…” David held up his hand, “Let me talk first please. When I sent you through the wardrobe I hoped you’d have a good life. I dreamed of your first steps and your first word. I dreamed of teaching you how to ride a horse and sword fight. I dreamed of watching your mother teaching you how to shoot a bow and arrow. I dreamed of us teaching you how to dance for your first ball and how beautiful you would look in your gown. I dreamed of spending every day with you and your mother and maybe more siblings closer in age than 30 plus years apart. We didn’t get to raise you and Neal will be closer in age to his nieces or nephews than he will be his big sister. I dreamed of walking you down the aisle and seeing my first grandchild and none of that happened. Since we got you back I prayed I would finally get that chance but now you are pregnant again before even being engaged.” Charming’s voice faltering a little as he said this, letting his emotions show. They still hadn’t realized the group had joined them when Emma says, “Dad, I understand. I missed so much of Henry’s life and now I am doing everything I can to make up for it. There is still time for us to do a lot of the things you always dreamed of doing. After all, I still don’t know how to shoot a bow and arrow. Plus, you get to teach Neal and your grandchildren all of those things and I can’t wait to see all of it happen. I know we aren’t married but Dad, these babies are such a blessing and I can’t wait to watch them grow and have a great relationship with Neal.” They finally realized the rest of the group was there when they both moved apart from hugging each other. 

“We can change the fact that we are not married,” Killian said moving up to Emma and Charming. “What do you say, love? Marry me?” He asks pulling the ring from his jacket pocket. Snow lets out a gasp as Emma says, “Killian, I can’t,” and turns to walk away from the group. The group shared a look of shock at what had just taken place and turned towards Hook who looked completely lost and heartbroken.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Once Regina and Robin returned home, they found Ruby and the boys playing a board game in the living room. They came in and sat down on the couch and watched as they finished their game, chatting happily with Ruby and the boys. When the game was over Regina talked to Ruby for a minute to thank her and make sure the boys behaved themselves. After showing Ruby out, Regina turned to the living room where the boys had already set the game up again to play with their parents. Regina just smiled at her 3 boys and sat down next to Robin on the couch. She was glad to be in her second trimester as she finally felt like she had her energy back and the nausea she was experiencing had for the most part subsided.

They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing as a family. The boys picked out some movies to watch and they played a few different board games. Around dinner time, Robin went out and picked up food from Granny’s. Once the boys went to bed, Robin lit a fire in the fireplace. When he returned to the couch where Regina was sitting, she immediately cuddled up to him. Her growing baby bump putting a bit more space between them than usual. “Well we made it through another crisis.” Robin said with a little chuckle. “Yeah, now maybe we can get some peace around here for a while.” Regina replied even though she was well aware that the odds were not in their favor. 

“Maybe now we can get back to planning the wedding.” Robin told her. This made Regina a bit nervous. She had in no way changed her mind about wanting to marry Robin, she loved him so much and wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life with him. Her pregnancy just complicated their plans a bit. “I would love that. I just am not sure how the pregnancy figures into all of this.” Regina admitted to him. “What do you mean?” Robin asked, a bit unsure of where she was going with this. “I still want nothing more than to be married to you. I just do not know when we should get married. Part of me wants to get married before the baby is born. I want this baby to be born with her parents being married. Unfortunately, that does not leave us much time to plan the kind of wedding I feel like I am obligated to have as queen. I also am not completely sure how I feel about being a pregnant bride. It would definitely make dress shopping a challenge.” Regina explained her feelings on the matter to him. If this were anyone else she would not have expressed all of her feelings, but with Robin she knew no matter what she could tell him anything. Robin kissed her temple, buying himself a few seconds to sort through his thoughts about what she just said. “I guess I understand where you are coming from. I mean I would marry you tomorrow with just the people closest to us. I also agree that it would be good for our baby to be born with her parents being married. I can see how as queen you feel like you need to have a big wedding, but I mean you did have that when you married Leopold. Do you really need to do it all again?” Robin asked her, although he was a bit nervous about bringing up her marriage to Leopold. 

Regina became uneasy at the mention of her marriage to Leopold. She was only 18 and he had been much older, after all his daughter was only 8 years younger than her. It had been rocky from the start. She was forced to marry him by her mother. Then the marriage had been anything but happy and she tried not to think about it much. She leaned in a bit closer to Robin and he wrapped his arms a bit tighter around her in response. “I don’t know, I still feel like I am supposed to have a big wedding. I also kind of like the idea of a big wedding and committing to be together in front of all of Storybrooke would be nice. Especially now that I have actually developed some pretty good relationships with many of the people in town.” Regina told him. She had worked really hard to redeem herself and while most of that was about her being happy and a better person, it was also nice to have made some real friendships with her former enemies. “Well do you think there is any way to put together a wedding fit for a queen before the baby is born?” Robin asked. “I think it might be possible. I would need a lot of help, but I still do not know how I feel about being a pregnant bride.” Regina knew it was vain of her, but she did not know how she would handle being much larger than usual on her wedding day. “You will look beautiful no matter when we get married.” Robin replied, planting a soft kiss on her lips. It was getting late so they decided to discuss the topic further tomorrow. Regina had to admit, Robin was making a good case to get married before the baby was born. Then, again, with the constant crises occurring in this town, things could get complicated fast.

Regina and Robin woke up the next morning completely naked and wrapped up in each other’s arms. They had celebrated the victory against Jafar last night and enjoyed having a bit of time to themselves. On top of spending a lot of time doing research in the last few weeks, Roland also had continued to have nightmares and had been spending a few nights a week sleeping in their bed. That had not left them much time to spend just the two of them. “Good morning.” Robin said with a smile on his face before sharing a passionate kiss with her. “Mmm, good morning.” Regina replied before stealing another kiss. “How are my girls doing this morning?” Robin asked before giving Regina’s stomach a quick kiss over the sheet they had draped over them. “We are both doing great.” Regina said with a smile. They laid in bed for a few minutes, kissing and just enjoying each other’s company. “Robin, we can’t. The boys are going to be up soon.” Regina told him, trying to resist how much they both wanted to repeat what happened last night. “It’s still pretty early, we should at least have a half hour before either of them are up.” Robin replied before kissing her hungrily on the lips and then trailing kisses along her jaw and making his way to her neck. “Robin…” Regina said a tone of warning in her voice, but it was too late. The pregnancy hormones took over and she gave into her desires and she was glad she did.

“That was…amazing.” Regina said a short time later. “Definitely!” Robin replied. “I love you.” Regina turned to him, her brown eyes staring straight into those beautiful blue eyes that melted her heart every time. “I love you too.” Robin replied kissing her one last time before they got up out of bed. Regina had told Robin the night before that with Halloween coming up, she thought it would fun for them to take Roland shopping for a costume. She had to explain exactly how it all worked to Robin since this would be his and Roland’s first Halloween in Storybrooke. Regina figured at least Roland would have some idea about Halloween from his friends at school or from Henry. Apparently she was wrong. “So Roland, what would you think about going shopping for a Halloween costume today?” Regina asked the young boy during breakfast. “What’s Hawoween?” Roland asked. “Halloween, it a fun holiday where you get to wear a costume and then for a few hours you go around the neighborhood and collect candy from all the neighbors.” Regina told the boy. “Yeah, it’s tons of fun Roland. You collect a bunch of candy that you get to eat later. Although, mom usually sneak eats some of it when she thinks you’re not looking.” Henry told his younger brother, whispering the last part. “I heard that.” Regina said glaring at her older son. Robin sat back and watched the whole conversation and could not help but smile watching his family talk about normal things.

Once they cleaned up breakfast, they all headed out to go buy Halloween costumes for both boys. They decided to walk into town today as it was supposed to be a beautiful fall day. Henry asked if he could get a costume too because he had been invited to a friend’s Halloween party and he would like to attend. As soon as they entered the costume store, Roland’s eyes became as wide as saucers, overwhelmed with all of the choices. Regina thought this might happen so she asked one of the sales people where the minion costumes were. She knew that Despicable Me had been the young boy’s favorite movie recently and figured this would be a safe bet for a costume idea. Roland immediately got excited when he realized he could be a minion. “Well that was easy.” Regina told Robin who also had a slightly overwhelmed look seeing all the options. Henry had wandered off to find his own costume and returned with a Captain America costume. Regina let out a chuckle, she knew how much her son loved his comic book heroes so she should have expected him to pick a costume like that. Once they paid for the costumes, Regina asked the boys if they would run a few more errands with her around town and then they could head to Granny’s for lunch.

An hour and a half later, they walked into Granny’s and Regina immediately felt like everyone was staring at her. “What are you all looking at?” Regina asked in a rather annoyed tone. She had not realized that the shirt she was wearing really accentuated her 18 week baby bump. “Now you all know that Regina is pregnant. Please go back to minding your own business.” Granny told everyone in the crowded diner in hopes that this would keep things from getting too crazy for the younger woman. Thankfully her plan had worked. “Thank you.” Regina told the older woman. “You’re welcome. I was starting to wonder how much longer you would be able to hide your pregnancy.” Granny replied, placing a reassuring hand on Regina’s shoulder. “Wait, you are talking about my pregnancy as if you knew about it long before I walked in the door today?” Regina asked. Granny nodded her head, letting the younger woman know she knew long before today. “How?” Regina questioned her, still a bit confused. “Along with my wolf hearing comes a heightened sense of smell. Pregnant woman have a very distinct smell thanks to all the crazy hormones. I have known for weeks. Possibly even before you knew you were pregnant. Anyway, Congratulations! Now I need to get back to work.” Granny told her, giving her a reassuring smile before heading back behind the counter. The two did not always have the greatest relationship, but Granny seemed to be yet another person who was giving Regina a second chance. While all of this had been going on, Robin had taken the boys to find a table sensing that Granny had things under control. The rest of lunch passed by fairly uneventfully. A few of the townspeople approached them as they ate to congratulate the couple. Regina thought this would annoy her, but she actually found it kind of nice that people cared enough to congratulate her and Robin. After everything she had done to some of these people she was not entirely sure she deserved their congratulations, but she was glad that it seemed most of the town had forgiven her.

As usual news of Regina’s pregnancy spread quickly through town. The family was stopped multiple times on their way home by people wishing to express their congratulations. The couple thanked each person and then would continue on their way. Regina and Robin held hands as they walked home with the boys happily walking together several steps ahead of the couple. This allowed them to talk a bit more about the wedding. “Well I guess everyone knows about the baby now.” Robin told Regina. “I guess so. That was not exactly how I wanted the whole town to find out, but at least everyone knows now.” Regina replied. “So, have you thought anymore about our wedding?” Robin asked. “A little bit. I am still not entirely sure what I want to do. I keep changing my mind. At this point the only thing I am sure of is that I love you and I want to marry you.” Regina told him with a meek smile. This was very unlike Regina and made her a bit uneasy that she had suddenly become so indecisive. She knew that Robin would give her time to sort through this and that it would not change his feelings for her. It had been a long time since she felt like she could truly trust someone like this. Sensing how uneasy she was, Robin wrapped an arm around her and gave her a reassuring kiss on her temple. “I love you too and I want you to marry me when you feel comfortable and ready.” Robin told her, hoping to ease her mind.

When they arrived home Regina sent the boys upstairs to put away their costumes. Regina and Robin busied themselves with doing some work around the house. About an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Robin answered the door and found Hook standing on the front porch. “Hey man, how are you?” Robin asked. “My girlfriend said no to my proposal and I have no idea why. Now I am sleeping on the couch every night.” Hook told his friend. “Ouch! I’m sure Emma will come around. Is there anything I can do to help?” Robin asked. “Actually I came to ask a favor of your fiancée.” Hook replied. “Of course.” Robin replied, leading Hook into the kitchen where Regina was unloading the dishwasher. “Regina, Hook was wondering if he could ask for a favor from you.” Robin announced when they entered the kitchen. As Robin joined her on the side of the kitchen island opposite Hook he whispered in her ear, “Emma won’t tell him why she said no and he’s sleeping on the couch.” filling her in on what Hook told him. “What can I do for you, guyliner?” Regina asked. Robin gave her a look, encouraging her to be a little nicer to the poor guy. “I was wondering if you had a potion or a spell that could alter my tattoo. I feel like it might help my chances with Emma if I no longer have a tattoo of my ex-love on my arm.” Hook told the couple standing across from him. “I am not entirely sure. I can look into it if you are willing to hang around here for a little bit.” Regina told him. The pirate nodded and Regina headed to her study to look through some of her books that she still had not returned to her vault after they defeated Jafar.

Robin spent this time trying to distract Hook and keep his mind off of what was happening with Emma. They went outside and did a bit of yard work. A short time later, Regina found them outside and handed the pirate a potion. “Here, just drink this while picturing what you want your tattoo to look like and it should do the trick.” she told him. “Thank you Regina.” Hook told her. “You’re welcome.” Regina replied. “Well I should be heading home, hopefully Emma and I can talk and sort all of this out.” Hook said waving to the couple. They both waved back before heading into the house.

A few days later Regina dropped Henry off at his Halloween party before heading home to take Roland trick-or-treating with Robin. When she returned home, the little boy was bouncing around the house with excitement. “Are you ready to go Roland?” Regina asked the young boy. “Yeah!” Roland enthusiastically replied. Both parents laughed at their son before grabbing their coats and heading out. They spent the next two hours leading Roland door to door allowing him to collect candy in his jack-o-lantern bucket that Regina had bought for him. Roland had been a bit unsure when approaching the first couple houses and asked Regina to go with him to the door. After he got the hang of it though, he became much more comfortable and allowed his parents to wait at the sidewalk while he went to each door. Regina and Robin held hands as they led their son through the neighborhoods to collect his Halloween candy.

A few hours later they arrived home and Roland immediately wanted to eat all of his candy. “Hold on a second my little star. How about you pick out a few pieces of candy to eat. Otherwise you will end up with a really bad tummy ache.” Regina told the young boy. Roland seemed a bit disappointed, but agreed nonetheless. After eating a few pieces of candy each, they gave Roland a bath, read him a story, and tucked him into bed. Regina then ran out to go pick up Henry from his party. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Regina told him before giving him a gentle kiss and heading out the door. Robin figured while Regina was gone he would take this time to draw a bath for the two of them and set some candles for when she got home. He figured after all the walking around for trick-or-treating, Regina would be tired and a nice bath would be great for her to relax.

Shortly after Regina and Henry returned home. Henry headed to his room to play video games. “Hey, you can play for an hour and then it is time for bed.” Regina told him. Henry nodded before heading up the stairs. Regina looked around downstairs for Robin and when she did not see him, she headed upstairs to see where he was. She found him in their master bathroom finishing up lighting all the candles. “What is all of this?” Regina asked. “I figured a relaxing bath would be nice after chasing Roland around during trick-or-treating.” Robin replied giving her a kiss. “You figured right then.” Regina told him, kissing him back. They both stripped of their clothes before climbing into the bath together. Robin sat behind Regina and wrapped his arms around her. The couple relaxed in the bath for a while, Robin delivering occasional kisses to Regina’s lips and neck. “Mmm, this was an amazing idea.” Regina told him, before turning her head to pull him into a passionate kiss. A short time later, Robin got out of the bath first before helping Regina up. He then handed her a towel which she wrapped around her body before grabbing his own. Regina wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into another passionate kiss. “Thank you.” she told him. “You are very welcome my love.” he replied kissing the tip of her nose. He then led her walking backwards, straight to their bed.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 

As Emma left the woods she had tears rolling down her cheeks. She could not believe that she had just told her true love and the father of her children no to his proposal of marriage. She knew with all her heart that the answer she gave him was not the one she wanted to give, but did not have the strength in herself to change her answer now or even face Killian. She knew that no matter what he would be home that night but she also knew that knowing him, he would let her have her time and would not try talking to her or even joining her in their bed. After she entered their apartment she went straight to their room, changed into comfortable clothes, and climbed into bed where she cried herself to sleep. She awoke a short time later when she heard the apartment door being opened, followed closely by the bedroom door. Emma heard Kilian collecting his belongings he would need to sleep on the couch. He kissed her on the head, while she faked being asleep, and then left their room. 

The two weeks since they defeated Jafar had been hell for both Emma and Killian. The two of them had been acting more like roommates than each other's true loves. They only talked about work and the kids; it was starting to drive Killian insane. He just wanted to know why his true love and the mother of his children told him no. Every morning he could hear Emma throwing up and every morning he would go into their bathroom to hold her hair but after she was better she would shut down and not speak to him. He would kiss her on the head and whisper, “I love you, Swan,” before heading back to the living area or the guest bedroom to gather his thoughts. After Killian would leave their room Emma would try and hold the tears at bay until one day she could not take it anymore. “Mom, can I come over and see you and Neal?” Emma called Snow when she knew Killian and her dad would be at the sheriff station. “Of course, Emma,” Snow tells her.

When Emma got there her baby brother was down for a nap and the first thing Emma did was fall into her mother’s arms crying. Snow lead her over to the couch and sat her down before going to get them both some hot chocolate. “Mom, I think I screwed up,” Emma said playing with her hands before resting them on her abdomen. Snow did not say anything and knew her daughter would continue when she was ready and she did just that when Snow handed her the hot chocolate. “Did I make the right decision moving in with Killian as soon as I did? Did we mess up and get pregnant too soon?” Snow turns to look at her daughter, “Nobody can answer those questions except you. But let me ask you a few questions, okay?” Emma nods her head. 

“Do you love Killian?” Snow asks as the first question. “Of course I do,” Emma says getting defensive. 

“Emma, I’m just asking a question. I think you needed to say it out loud for yourself. Do you love your children?” Emma places her hands back over her stomach, “More than I love their father. I couldn’t have been happier when I found out I was pregnant with these babies. Don’t get me wrong I was scared to death but I knew that I am in a better relationship and place in my life now than I was 16 years ago when I was pregnant with Henry.”

Emma takes a deep breathe to calm her nerves as Snow says, “Okay, so then why did you decline Killian’s proposal and wait 2 weeks to talk about it?” Emma didn’t know how to explain any of this which is why it has taken her two weeks to say anything.

“I had another nightmare the night before we defeated Jafar. It was about my moments as the Dark One; they are finally catching up to me. I remember telling Killian that he will never love me like he loved Milah. I told him that I knew no matter what he would never want to marry me. I hate that I said such mean things to him, but Mom, how could he still love me? Everytime I see his tattoo I can’t help but continue to question our relationship, even though it’s me he comes home to and is having children with.” 

Snow grabs her daughter’s hands before saying, “Emma, you need to tell Killian all of this. He’s called me numerous times to see if you had said anything to me. Plus, I know that Henry wants to be with you both but wanted to give you space once he heard. Can I ask you one last question?” Emma nods as her mom says, “Do you want to marry Killian?” As soon as Snow finished Emma said “Yes.” Snow tells her to go home and talk to Killian. 

What Snow and Emma did not know was that while they were having their heart to heart Killian and Charming were having a similar conversation at the station, “Good morning, David,” Killian says coming into the office. “Hey,” David mumbles not looking up from the paperwork he was working on. “David, can I talk to you about something?” Killian asked. Sighing David puts his pen down and turned toward Killian saying, “Sure, but first, please, tell me how Emma was feeling this morning.” 

“Just like every morning for the past two weeks; throwing up and ignoring me. I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m starting to wonder if she just wants me to move out.” David holds up his hand. “Killian, let me stop you right there! Can I ask you a few questions,” and Killian nods relaxing in his seat. 

“Do you love Emma?” Charming asks the first question. “That’s not even a question. I love Emma with all my heart. Her and our three children are the best things that have ever happened to me. I wouldn’t be the man I am without them. I spent 300 years trying to get revenge on Rumplestiltskin. Meeting and falling in love with Emma changed all of that. I was so nervous when she told me she was pregnant and the moment that we found out it was twins I was even more nervous, but I know that the only person I want to raise kids with and spend the rest of my life waking up with is your daughter. It may have taken me awhile to knock down her walls but I did and I love her more because of it.” 

“Well since you answered my second question with the first,” David chuckled, “Let me ask you the next one. Why do you think Emma declined your proposal?” Killian sighed playing with his hook.

“I wish I knew the answer to that question. I had been thinking about proposing before she became the Dark Once. Just like you I thought we would be engaged or even married before having more kids. But that obviously didn’t go as planned.” David nods his head, “Does Henry know? How long have you had the ring?”

Killian pulls the ring from his pocket examining it, “Since Liam died. It was our mom’s; he was supposed to have it for his future wife but when he died it went to me. It’s the only thing I kept from the Jolly Roger when I traded it to go find Emma in New York. Henry and I talked about it one day after we had visited Emma and were both upset by some of the things she said but it never changed how much we both love her and nothing ever will. Your daughter is it for me, David. I don’t want or need anything else, I just want her as my wife forever.” 

Charming smiles a genuine smile and asks Killian if he can see the ring. After fiddling with it for a minute he handed it over to David. As Charming inspected it he was surprised to see that just like Snow’s it was an emerald but Killian’s mom’s was a darker more vibrant green that reminded him of his daughter’s eyes. Handing the ring back, Charming says, “I think you need to go home and tell Emma all of this.” “Thank you for this talk, David,” Killian holds out his hand to shake David’s. “Just don’t let my daughter run.”

Before heading home Killian made a few stops. His first stop was at Robin and Regina’s to have the tattoo of Milah’s name removed from his forearm. After leaving Regina’s he stopped at the store to pick up some Rocky Road ice cream and a bouquet of crazy daisies before heading home. All he kept hoping was that she was already there. As he opened the door he could smell pizza cooking in the oven but when he walked into the kitchen and living room he did not see Emma anywhere. “Swan,” he called out for her, but did not hear an answer. He put the ice cream in the freezer and grabbed a vase for the flowers before setting them on the counter. He then goes in search of Emma, where he finds her asleep in their bed wearing one of his shirts and clutching his pillow; her beautiful blonde hair sprawled everywhere. Killian hears a ding and realizes the pizza is done. He leaves their room to take it out of the oven before going back to Emma. 

When he got back to their room he changed into something more comfortable and crawled into bed with Emma; he was able to pull his pillow from her grasp without waking her. He placed the pillow down and replaced himself with the pillow. Angling his head to kiss her on the top of hers he could tell his pillow was starting to smell like hers which means she had been using it to sleep with the past two weeks. Hook fell asleep within a couple of minutes of securing Emma in his arms. 

Emma awoke in a panic after having a nightmare of how she spoke to Henry on one of his visits. She had tears rolling down her face but she could not move and she refused to open her eyes. When she felt a body next to her move she opened her eyes and saw the love of her life lying in bed with her for the first time since that night in the woods. Remembering she had put a pizza in the oven she sat up which woke up Killian. “Love, why are you up? Lay back down, please,” Killian whined trying to pull Emma back down to his arms. “Hook, the pizza,” Emma tries to get out of bed. “I took it out when I got home, now please lay back down with me.” He pleads with his eyes looking right into hers. 

“I think we need to talk first.” Emma gets out of the bed as Killian said, “Swan, please come back to bed. I’ve missed you and our bed these past two weeks.” 

“Killian, please. We aren’t going to jump back into bed and act like everything isn't all messed up between us at the moment. Obviously I’ve missed you too, considering I’m wearing your clothes and you probably had to remove your pillow from my arms. So can we please leave our room and go clear the air? Plus your children are hungry.” Emma says before she leaves the room in just his t-shirt . Killian sighs knowing that if he does not join her then nothing is going to change. He climbs out of bed and pulls on a pair of sweats on over his boxers but bypassed putting a shirt on. When he got to the kitchen Emma had reheated the pizza and made them both some hot chocolate. 

“Thank you for the flowers Killian; they are beautiful.” Emma says as he takes a seat at the counter. “Just thought you could use something to cheer you up a bit. There is also some Rocky Road in the freezer too.” Killian says as Emma places his pizza in front of him, “Thank you, love.” Emma shuttered at the nickname, “How can you still love me?” She asks staring at her pizza. “Swan, of course, I love you! How could I not after all we have been through together?” Hook says trying to grab her hand but she does not let him. As Emma is pacing she says, “After all the things I said to you while I was the Dark One. It just doesn’t make sense that you would want to marry me and have a family with me.” Not realizing it she turns around and Killian is standing right behind her and he wraps his arms around her. 

 

“Emma, nothing you said while you were the Dark One will ever change my love for you. You are it for me, love. I want to marry you. You, Henry, and these babies...” placing his hand on her abdomen, “are all I need in my life.” Emma moved away from Killian, “I don’t want you to marry me just because I’m pregnant.”

“Don’t ever think that, Swan! I want to marry you because I love you! Whether you were pregnant or not I would have proposed. It’s actually happening later than I planned. Even though we hadn’t talked about it I’ve been planning it since before you became the Dark One. I’ve had the ring for even longer.” Lifting Emma’s chin to look her in the eyes, “Emma you are my true love. I had been angry for so long but the minute I met you in the Enchanted Forest my life was forever changed. Please, just tell me what has you so scared of accepting my marriage proposal and don’t tell me it’s because of the babies.”

“Killian for as long as I knew I didn’t have anyone who loved me. Now I have this big crazy family and you, who all seem to love me no matter what I do. Don’t get mad at me, okay?” Killian nods, “The night before we defeated Jafar. The day we found out we were going to have these babies. I had my first nightmare of myself as the Dark One. I can’t believe the things I said to you and Henry. I’m sorry about what I said about Milah and Liam. I know you loved them and did all you could to protect and save them. I just feel like I’m always second to Milah, like my love for you is never going to be enough, especially after I see the tattoo on your arm. I may be having your children, Killian but I don’t feel like you truly want me to be your wife.” Emma removes herself from Hook’s hold and moves to go around him, with tears rolling down her cheeks. 

“Swan, don’t walk away, please?” Killian says as he grabs her arm but she refuses to turn around and look at him. “Emma, you will never and have never come second to Milah after we met. There are only three people you will ever come second to and I hope that for you I would come second to, is our children. You and them are the only things I know, for sure, are the things I have done right in my life. Can you please look at me for this next part?” Emma turns around but does not look at him so he uses his hook to lift her chin in order to look her in the eyes. “Will you do me a favor, look at my arm and tell me what you see? When Emma refuses to look he keeps trying and she finally gives in and looks after he asks three more times.

“Killian!” she exclaims, “When did you do this?” What Emma is sees on her lover's arm is not his usual tattoo. It’s still a heart but in place of the dagger is an anchor and on the banner is ‘Emma’ instead of ‘Milah’. “I stopped by Regina and Robin’s on my way home to have her change it. Emma, I love you and you will always and forever be my anchor in this realm and any other. I will always come home to you and our kids. I will always want to go to bed and wake up next to you. I need you to answer me one question, please?” Emma nods her head, “Why didn’t you come to me when you were having nightmares about yourself? Why didn’t you wake me that Friday you had the first one?”

“Hook that’s two questions!” Emma lets out a chuckle trying to lighten the mood. “I didn’t wake you that first night because I was more afraid of myself at the time and didn’t want to bother you. As more came up in the past two weeks I couldn’t get over myself enough to want to come crawl onto the couch with you after declining your proposal. I felt like I didn’t have the right or deserve to. Can I ask you a question?” Killian grabs her hand and leads her to the couch, “Anything, love.”

“You said you’ve been planning on proposing for awhile so how long have you had the ring?” Killian moves to grab the ring from his jacket that is hanging by the door and tells Emma all about it. By the time he finishes Emma has tears running down her cheeks again. “I’m so sorry!” Emma says throwing her arms around Killian and not letting go. “Love, can I ask you one last question?” Killian whispers to Emma. Without pulling away from Killian, she says “Killian, the answer is yes. There was never a doubt that this is what I wanted the answer to be when you asked me that afternoon.” Killian pulls away, slips the ring onto her finger, and kisses her like he’s been wanting to for two weeks. 

While Killian was kissing her he picked her up and carried her back to their room and laid her gently on the bed. “Hook…” Emma started before Killian interrupted her. “Love, we are just going to lay here and cuddle. I’m still tired, too. I just want to sleep in my own bed with you in my arms.” Emma let out a soft moan as Killian kissed her again. After making-out for a bit Emma curled into Killian and fell into her first peaceful sleep in two weeks. While watching his fiance sleep Hook laid there smiling with his hands caressing the slight baby bump Emma had that was housing their twins. “I love you two more than you will ever know,” he whispered before falling asleep too. 

They spend the next few days getting back into their normal routine and spending as much time with Henry as they could. He was happy because both of this moms were engaged and pregnant with his baby siblings. His family kept growing and he could not have been happier about it. He knew the holidays would be ones to celebrate for years to come as the family continued to grow.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 

“Seriously mom! Promise me you will go easy on her!” Henry begged his mom as she was cooking dinner. He planned to do the same to Emma when she arrived. “Why are you not begging Robin to go easy on her?” Regina asked with a smirk on her face. “Because you are way more likely to scare her away. Just promise me no conjuring fireballs or something of the sort if you don’t like her answer to a question.” Henry continued to beg. Robin was sitting on one of the bar stools at the island trying not to laugh. He knew better than to get involved in an argument between the two most stubborn people in the house and possibly in all of Storybrooke. “I promise. I will be nice. Although I reserve the right to ask her as many questions as I chose. You only get to interrogate your son’s first girlfriend once.” Regina told the boy. Henry threw up his hands in exasperation and headed up to his room to get ready.

“Are you going to be like this with all of our children?” Robin asked. “Probably. Although I have a feeling that when it comes to the little girl that is currently kicking me in the kidney, you will be the one scaring the boys away.” Regina replied placing a hand to her ever growing baby bump. Robin got up from the bar stool and walked to the other side of the island. He squatted down next to his fiancée placing his hands on either side of her baby bump. “Hey, you go easy on your mom in there. Also, remember no matter what your mother says, you are not allowed to date until you’re at least 30.” Robin said to Regina’s stomach before giving it a quick kiss. Regina could not help but laugh as he talked to her stomach. She had finally reached the 20 week mark in her pregnancy and was starting to stress out about everything they still had to do before the baby came. Two days earlier she had made Robin start painting the nursery while she stressed out about creating a gift registry for her baby shower that Snow and Tink were planning for her.

A short time later the doorbell was ringing. Henry ran for the door in case it was Melody, he wanted to be the one to answer if it was her to give her a few words of warning and encouragement before meeting everyone. He opened the door to find his other mom and Killian standing on the porch. “Oh, it’s just you guys.” Henry grumbled, a bit louder than he planned. “Thanks for the warm welcome kid.” Emma replied. “Sorry mom, I’m just nervous. Please go easy on Melody! I really like her and I don’t want you guys to scare her away.” Henry pleaded, much as he had earlier to Regina. “I just want to get to know her better Henry. I promise to be on my best behavior.” Emma reassured her son, but in the back of her mind acknowledging that she had to get to know this girl in order to keep Henry safe. Hook had watched the entire interaction fighting the urge to laugh, knowing how scary Emma can be when it comes to things involving Henry. “Don’t say a word.” Emma warned him before they headed into the kitchen to join the others.

A few minutes later, Melody arrived. Henry immediately answered the door. “Please forgive me for anything my moms may do tonight. They are a bit overprotective of me.” Henry said before both sets of parents entered the foyer. “Welcome Melody. I’m Regina and this is my fiancé Robin. This is Henry’s other mom Emma and her fiancé Hook.” Regina greeted the young girl. “Thank you for having me.” Melody replied, giving them a nervous smile. “Dinner is almost ready, why don’t you two go finish setting the dining room table and we’ll go grab the food.” Robin recommended. “Good idea.” Henry said, leading Melody to the dining room.

After grabbing everything from the kitchen, the four of them entered the dining room with salad, rolls, drinks, and Regina’s famous lasagna. Robin went into the other room to grab Roland who had been watching a movie so the young boy could eat dinner as well. They all took their seats around the table as they began to dig into the food. “So Melody, how long have you lived here in Storybrooke?” Emma asked trying to keep her promise to Henry. “Not long. My parents decided to move here about a year ago so that I could be around kids my own age.” Melody replied. “Do you like it here in Storybrooke?” Robin asked. “Yeah for the most part. The water is a bit cold for swimming, but other than that I really like it here.” Melody answered honestly. She figured that would be best. “How did you and Henry end up together?” Regina asked, wanting to know more about their relationship. “We met on my first day of school and Henry helped me get used to going to school and find my way. He was always super nice to me and we became friends. We got to know each other better and about a month ago he asked me to be his girlfriend. You really do have a great son. I’m not sure what I would have done without all of his help. He adores all of you and tells me all about you so I was pretty excited to meet you guys.” Melody replied sensing that Regina was still unsure of her. “So what do you like to do outside of school?” Killian asked trying to break the tension, earning him a barely noticeable glare from both mothers who wanted to interrogate the girl a bit more. “Henry introduced me to some television shows to watch and movies. It was all a bit weird at first. We definitely did not have anything like it when I was living with my grandfather. I also like to spend time at the library reading. Henry also tried to get me to play video games with him, but to be honest I find them pretty boring.” Melody chuckled a bit at the last part. This seemed to finally break the tension, it was becoming clear that this was just a sweet young girl who liked Henry.

After another hour of much more relaxed conversation, the group felt like they knew Melody much better. Regina and Emma even approved of Henry and Melody continuing to date. “It was very nice meeting you Melody. You are welcome here any time.” Regina told the young girl when it was time for her to head home. Emma nodded in agreement. Henry hugged Melody and said goodnight to her when her parents pulled into the driveway to pick her up.  
“Thank you guys for not scaring her away.” Henry turned to his mothers after Melody left. The guys had headed into the kitchen to start cleaning up so the three of them could have a moment together. “She really is a sweet girl Henry. Just don’t keep stuff like this from us in the future.” Regina said placing an arm around her son. “Yeah kid, you have to tell us these things from now on.” Emma said in agreement. “We should probably get going love. It’s getting late.” Hook said as he entered the foyer. “You’re probably right. Thank you Regina for having us over. See you guys later.” Emma said. Henry walked over to Emma and gave her a hug. “I love you kid.” Emma said as she released her son from the hug. “I love you too mom.” Henry replied. Hook shook Robin’s hand before heading towards the door. He stopped for a moment to thank Regina and say goodnight to Henry. “You did good lad. She is a very nice girl and really pretty.” Hook told him, giving him a pat on the shoulder before following Emma out the front door.

“I think it’s time for you to head up to bed. An hour of television or video games and then lights out.” Regina said to Henry after showing Emma and the pirate out. “Okay, goodnight mom, goodnight Robin.” Henry said. “That goes for you too my little star.” Regina said to Roland who was finishing the movie he was watching earlier. The young boy had eaten his dinner and then asked to be excused to finish his movie. Normally he would not be allowed, but dinner was far longer than normal and the boy was probably bored so Robin gave him permission to. Robin picked Roland up and carried him up to bed while Regina headed to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. A few minutes later Robin returned downstairs and started to help Regina with the kitchen. “I’m proud of you.” Robin told her, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. “Why is that?” Regina asked. “You managed to get through an entire dinner with Henry’s girlfriend without scaring the girl away or throwing a fireball. I was a bit worried for the poor girl.” Robin said half joking, half not. Regina rolled her eyes. “I am not that bad. I just had to be sure that this girl was good enough for our son.” she replied. Robin gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before they both got back to cleaning up. Once the kitchen was clean, they both headed to bed.

After leaving Regina and Robin’s, Hook and Emma decided to take the long walk home and take a stroll by the water. With his arm wrapped around Emma’s shoulder Hook tells her how proud of her he is since she was nice to Melody and didn’t scare her. She laced her fingers with Killian’s before addressing him, “Whether I didn’t like her or not I couldn’t have been mean. I just want Henry to be happy too. He has had so many changes in his life that it’s nice that he has something just for him and to get his mind off of the babies, weddings, and villains. He needs to be a teenager and just have fun, but not too much fun.” 

They spent time just watching the horizon, talking about the future and stealing kisses in the moonlight. Emma ends up falling asleep with her head on Killian’s shoulder. He did not want to have to wake her but he did not trust himself to carry her all the way to the apartment. Something else I cannot do with just one hand, he thought. He just wanted to protect his princess and their babies but that means he’s going to have to wake her up and get her back to their apartment to tuck her into bed. “Swan, you need to wake up,” he says rubbing her arm and kissing her head as she mumbled that she did not want to go to work. “Love, it’s not time to go to work but we do need to get back to the apartment so you can sleep in a bed instead of on a bench and I can’t carry you,” he says as she begins to wake up seeing that he is messing with the brace that holds his hook in place. “Killian, is your arm bothering you?,” She asks sounding worried and after looking at her he could see the worried look on her beautiful face as he nods. Standing up Emma grabs Hook’s hand and pulls him to his feet, “Let’s go home.”

When they got home Emma helped Killian remove his brace and they fell asleep with her massaging the stump. The next morning they cuddled in bed while just outside something was happening that Emma was not going to be happy about. “Hey, Red, want to go for a walk with Neal and I?” Snow asked her best friend. “I would love to, Snow,” Ruby said joining instep with Snow as she pushes Neal’s stroller. As they walk, they talk about everything that’s going on. They talked about how Neal has changed and grown these past few months and who he is starting to look like. They talked about how much they were ready for no more villains, when Red asked if she could ask Snow a question. “You can ask me anything Ruby,” Snow tells her as she stops walking before starting up again. “How far along is Emma?” Ruby asks really fast. “What…um...what are you talking about?” Snow falters. “Snow, don’t lie to me. I can smell her hormones. But her’s are stronger than Regina’s,” Red says to her friend as they turn the corner to head back to Granny’s. “She’s 12 weeks today but you can’t say anything to anyone. They aren’t ready for people to know yet especially since Regina is pregnant too. Only family knows right now.” Ruby nods saying, “I take it that means Regina knows too?” Snow just nods. What Mary Margaret and Ruby did not know was that someone was behind them and heard the whole thing. 

Snow had called Emma and Killian to meet them for breakfast at Granny’s. When Snow walked into the diner it got quiet, but she did not pay it any attention because people started talking again almost immediately; that was until her daughter and future son-in-law walked in. When the diner got quiet everyone stared at Emma, she became anxious and nervous. “Why the hell is everyone staring at me,” she whispered to Hook as she squeezed his hand before leading him to her mom and brother. “Mom, what’s going on?” Snow shakes her head before saying, “I have no idea.” The whispering and staring continues as she trying to enjoy breakfast with her table but she’s finally tired of it. “Happy, what is going on?” 

Happy looked scared when Emma called him out. “There’s a rumor going around that you’re pregnant and everyone is afraid to ask,” Happy said really fast with his head down. “Who told you that?” Emma all but yells at the residents of Storybrooke, who are in the diner. All she hears in return is the mumbling of the names Leroy and Grumpy as she sees him trying to sneak out the back. Using magic she locks the backdoor before telling Grumpy to come back. “Where did this rumor come from Grumpy,” she asks as he shrugs his shoulders. “Um… I don’t really remember who I heard say it,” Grumpy answers even though he doesn’t want to. “I don’t believe that for a second, even if I didn’t have my super power. So spit it out, Grumpy. Who said it?” Grumpy looks at Mary Margaret before turning back to Emma, “Snow and Ruby.”

Emma’s eyes snap up to look at her mom while Killian lays a calming hand on her back, as the tears stung her eyes. Without saying a word to anybody Emma walked out the door of the diner not knowing where she wanted to end up. After Emma left, Killian turned to glare at his future mother-in-law. “I’m sorry Killian. I was talking to Ruby. I didn’t know anyone was around us,” Snow tries to plead her case. Hook turns to the customers without addressing Snow, “Yes, Emma is pregnant. We weren’t planning on telling anyone yet but I guess we are out of luck sharing our own happy, exciting news.” Without saying another word he left the diner in search of his fiancee. Killian thought of calling Emma’s phone but then remembered it was in her red leather jacket that was currently in his arms. He knew that he needed to find his Swan soon before she got too cold in this November morning weather. He thought of checking the sheriff station and their apartment first but that is not what his heart was telling him. 

Emma did not know where she was headed when she left the diner but she ended up at the docks. She knew that Killian would find her whenever he left the diner. After sitting there, for 15 minutes, thinking about how she was feeling, she heard footsteps approaching. She wasn’t ready for the whole town to know about the pregnancy. She really did not want them to know she was pregnant with twins. “Hey love, put your coat on before you and our baby girls freeze,” Killian said holding her jacket open as she lets out a chuckle. “Shut up, Hook. We could have two little pirates in here instead of princesses,” Emma places their hands on her swelling baby bump. “Aye, Swan and as long as they and their mommy are healthy, I don’t care what they are.” 

Emma and Hook continued sitting on the docks talking and stealing kisses before it started to get too cold for them to sit around outside, even in the middle of the day. When they got back to the apartment Emma realized that they were both really late for work and had not even called her dad to let him know. “Dad, sorry we’re late, we’ll be right in,” Emma said right after her dad answered the phone in the station. “Emma, I talked to your mom already and I called Robin. Things have been quiet lately so I’ll take the morning shift while he takes the afternoon. You and Hook take the day off,” David answered her. “Dad, we don’t have too. We just lost track of time after,” Emma started before her dad interrupted, “Em, stop! You aren’t coming in today. Spend the day relaxing with Killian.” Emma sighs, “Yes, sir.” She hung up the phone before moving into the kitchen where Hook met her with a mug of hot chocolate with cinnamon. “David gave us the day off so go get into comfortable clothes and meet me on the couch. I want a day of snuggles and Netflix,” Emma tells him before giving him a kiss that makes him not want to leave her side. “Do we get to continue doing that the rest of the day?” Killian asks her between kisses. “Only if you go change and come back,” Emma tells him pushing him toward their bedroom. They spent the rest of the day being lazy, not caring about what the world outside their apartment was up to.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 

Robin was sitting on the bed dodging the items of clothing that would occasionally be thrown in his direction. She was not actually aiming for him or anything in particular, she was just throwing her clothes everywhere out of frustration. “Regina sweetheart, what is the matter?” Robin asked, not daring to approach the angry woman at the moment. “I have nothing to wear! I am too fat for all of my clothes!” Regina yelled at him. Robin got up off of the bed and cautiously approached her. “Regina you are not fat, you’re pregnant.” Robin tried to reassure her, still keeping a bit of distance between them. “It doesn’t matter why I’m fat. I’m still fat.” Regina said, slightly calmer than before. “Regina, can you please stop throwing clothes for a moment and look at me.” Robin told her, gently grabbing her shoulders to turn her towards him. “There is a big difference between fat and pregnant. You are carrying our daughter and I think you look absolutely beautiful. You just need some maternity clothes. I know Emma has been saying she needs some too. Why don’t you guys go shopping together?” Robin hoped what he said would calm her down. He could see the anger that was in her eyes moments earlier soften and turn to a mix of apology and embarrassment. When Robin sees this he knows it is safe to approach and take her into his arms. She hesitates for a moment before wrapping her arms around him as well. “Sorry I was being crazy.” Regina whispered. “It’s fine. I’m just glad you were throwing clothes and not shoes.” Robin replied causing Regina to let out a small laugh. “Do I have to go shopping with Emma though? She’s probably even more annoying than usual now that she’s pregnant.” Regina asked in an almost whiny tone. “You don’t have to do anything, but I think with you both being pregnant it would be good for you guys to be there to support each other. Who better to understand what you’re going through than another pregnant woman?” Robin said, trying to convince her. She knew he was right and with a sigh she pulled away from the hug to grab her phone and call the blonde woman.

Shortly after Regina called, Emma and Hook both headed over to the mayoral mansion. Once the two pregnant women headed out to shop for maternity clothes that left the two men alone to talk and keep an eye on Henry and Roland. “Do you want a beer mate?” Robin asked, figuring if Regina was this crazy pregnant with one that Emma was likely even more crazy being pregnant with twins. “That would be great.” Hook replied. “So I have to ask, have you noticed that from time to time Emma turns into a crazy person you do not recognize?” Robin was curious. “I thought I was the only one. It’s like she is possessed or something and she loses all logical thought. Two mornings ago she got mad at me for getting her the breakfast she asked for. She told me that she no longer wanted that and I should have known that. I am not exactly sure how I was supposed to know that in the five minutes it took me to make it, but I wish I could figure it out. Thankfully, she usually comes to her senses before too long and apologizes before blaming the pregnancy hormones.” Hook responded. “While we are on the topic of food. What kind of odd cravings has Emma been having? The other day Regina asked for a salad with chicken, mustard, and pickles.” Robin told his friend, cringing at the thought of the combination. “All the time. Then only about half of the time will she actually eat whatever weird food combination she asked for.” Hook replied as Robin nodded to let him know Regina does the same thing. “These two might just be the death of us.” Hook told Robin. The two laughed about the thought of the crazy women in their life that they both loved so much before heading outside to spend time with the boys.

Regina and Emma were slowly each finding some maternity clothes that they liked. Neither of them were super big on frills or pastel colored clothing, but that seemed to be what the majority of the maternity clothing that they found entailed. It took some time, but with some searching they found several outfits for each of them that were closer to their usual style. Regina had found a few blouses, skirts, and pants that were not completely hideous. The dresses were a bit harder, but she eventually found a few that she liked a lot. Emma found some nice pairs of jeans and several tops that she thought matched her style and she would be comfortable in. The two of them shared pleasant conversation much to Regina’s surprise. “I feel bad for him. It’s like this crazy rush of hormones takes over and I lose my mind temporarily. He is being really patient, but I can tell that sometimes it really frustrates him.” Emma told Regina. “I know, this morning Robin was afraid to come near me for a few minutes as I was throwing things everywhere. He was great though, he dodged clothes that were flying at his head and talked me down. He actually was the one who recommended that we go shopping together.” Regina admitted to the blonde. “So do you need us to bring anything for Thanksgiving dinner at your house?” Emma asked. “A side dish to share would be great. Otherwise I think we have it covered. Your mother of course is bringing a bunch of the food and is coming over early to help me cook the rest of the food. I told her I could handle it, but she insisted that I should be resting more since I’m in the second half of my pregnancy.” Regina replied. “Yeah, she’s been doing the same thing to me. I appreciate the help, but I’m also not an invalid. Especially now that I am into my second trimester. It feel like I have most of my energy back.” Emma shared her frustrations about her mother. She appreciated all the help, but her mom as usual was starting to go overboard. “Enjoy having your energy back while it lasts. In the last week it was like someone just started to suck more energy out of me every day. It’s definitely still not as bad as it was at the beginning of my pregnancy, but it’s definitely heading in that direction.” Regina responded. Once they paid for their new clothes, the two very hungry women decided to stop at Granny’s for some food.

“So are you going to find out the genders?” Regina asked Emma as they both stuffed their face with fries. “Yeah, we’re going in a few weeks for the ultrasound. To be honest, I’m still not entirely sure I want to know. I may still change my mind.” Emma replied. “Yeah we debated about it too, but I really wanted to be able to have so more gender specific items. So Robin agreed to find out. Plus I think he himself was also rather curious. This was not even an option back in the Enchanted Forest.” Regina explained her reasoning on finding out the gender. “Speaking of which, are you guys ever going to tell us what you are having?” Emma questioned. “That Ms Swan, is a surprise for another day.” Regina replied. “So has Henry said anything to you about how things are going with Melody?” Emma asked, moving on since she knew Regina was not going to cave and tell her what she was having. “A little bit here and there. Most of the time he’ll talk about her at dinner when we’re all talking about our days. He’ll mention something they did that day or that she said. It’s really rather cute. She came over a couple of times too and they worked on homework together. How much has he mentioned to you?” Regina was curious if he was telling Emma more or less. “About the same. She is definitely a very sweet girl, I just am not ready for him to be dating. It’s crazy to me to have a teenager who is dating while I am pregnant.” Emma told her. Regina nodded her head in agreement while she ate a few more fries. “I don’t know how your parents do it. They have a daughter who is the same age as them, engaged, and pregnant with twins all the while taking care of a toddler at home. I know my curse allowed them to not age, but it still has to feel a bit strange from time to time.” Regina usually would not admit that she was impressed with the Charmings, but her current situation made her a bit more sensitive to the pair. The two finished up their food before heading back to the mansion.

They found their fiancés in the backyard playing tag with the boys. When the two men saw them they called a timeout to greet their respective women with a quick kiss before going back to the game. Regina and Emma watched as the four boys continued to play. Both women had huge smiles on their faces at the reality of how lucky they were to have these men in their life and how lucky their children were to have such great dads. Once Henry and Roland were both worn out from playing tag, Emma and Hook bid the group goodbye before heading home.

Regina picked up Granny’s for dinner since it had been a busy day and she had not really planned anything for dinner. She and Robin chatted about how the shopping trip went during dinner. At the same time, Henry was having his own conversation with Roland, trying to explain Thanksgiving to his younger brother. After dinner, Regina remembered that Thanksgiving was only two days away and she really needed to go grocery shopping to get all the food and supplies they would need. If only she was not so tired. She had laid down on the couch after dinner and did not feel like getting back up. “Do you want me to go with you? It might help us get everything done faster?” Robin offered. He would love to do it for her, but unfortunately he still had not learned to drive and it would require a car to get all the groceries they would need home. “Thank you for the offer, but I’ll go so you can stay here and keep an eye on the boys.” Regina replied. She managed to pull her tired body off of the couch with a little help from Robin. He stole a kiss before she went and grabbed her car keys and purse, then heading out the door.

Two days later Regina was running around the kitchen like a mad woman. She hated to say it, but she was looking forward to Snow’s arrival as it would mean she would have more help. Robin was a great cook when it came to most foods, but he had never cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner before. After all this was going to be his and Roland’s first Thanksgiving. It was not exactly a holiday that was celebrated back in the Enchanted Forest. The moment the doorbell rang, Regina let out a sigh of relief.  
“I got it!” Robin yelled coming from upstairs where he had checking on the boys to see what they were up to. As he opened the door Regina came in from the kitchen. Upon seeing Snow standing on her doorstep, Regina grabbed her hand muttering about needing her help and leading her to the kitchen. “Apparently, Regina was in need of some help in the kitchen.” Charming said with a laugh. “Yeah, she kicked me out about an hour ago and has been running around like crazy trying to get everything done ever since. Something about me never having cooked Thanksgiving dinner before and not knowing how to make the typical food.” Robin told him. He headed into the kitchen to grab them both a beer before they settled into the living room with Henry, Roland, and Neal to play and keep them entertained until dinner.

Emma and Hook arrived about an hour later. Hook joined the other men in the living room. Emma also made a stop there to say hi to everyone especially her son, father, and brother. She then headed into the kitchen to see if she could help. Upon arriving in the kitchen she found her mother and Regina having a pleasant conversation. “Happy Thanksgiving.” Emma said to the pair, letting them know she was there. “Oh hi sweetheart, Happy Thanksgiving.” Snow replied. “Happy Thanksgiving Emma.” Regina said although not quite as enthusiastically as Snow. “Can I help with anything in here?” Emma asked, knowing her cooking skills were nothing compared to that of her mother and Regina. “Actually I think we’re almost ready to eat. Your mom has been a great help. Now we just have to get everything into serving dishes.” Regina replied. The three women chatted as they transferred all the food into serving dishes and began to take the food into the dining room. “Everything smells great!” Charming called from the living room. “That’s good, you guys can actually head into the dining room and start getting the boys situated.” Snow called to her husband as she headed back to the kitchen to grab more of the food.

A few minutes later, they were all sitting down to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. Something that just a few short years ago, would have seemed impossible considering the status of their relationships with each other. Now they actually had become a family. The group shared conversations about a variety of topics, the main one being Henry and his new girlfriend. “So Henry, how are things with Melody?” Snow asked. “It’s going well actually. We get along really great most of the time. Although sometimes I say something that upsets her without realizing I’m doing it, but we usually work it out pretty quickly.” Henry replied. “Yeah, get used to that lad. There will always be times where you say something that upsets her. What is important is that you apologize and try not to make the same mistake twice.” Hook stated sending a wink towards Emma who rolled her eyes. The other men at the table nodded in agreement. “Henry, ignore those three. Just be yourself. You are becoming an amazing young man and I’m sure Melody sees that. No matter what there will always be arguments. You guys will not always see eye to eye on things, the important thing is you listen to each other.” Snow explained to her grandson, trying to give him a woman’s perspective to consider. “Snow’s right. Relationships take work to keep them together and no matter what you are going to have rough times. What matters is that you work through them together.” Regina chimed in. Robin gave her hand a squeeze, thinking about some of the rough times they have had to work through.

“So, since it is Thanksgiving I think we should take time to each say what we are thankful for.” Snow said to the group. Regina groaned a bit louder than she wanted to and the whole group turned to look at her. “What?! Just because it’s Thanksgiving doesn’t mean we all have to sit around the table bearing our souls to each other and being all touchy feely.” Regina explained to the group. “Oh come on Regina, you don’t have to say much just something you’re thankful for.” Snow replied trying to convince her. “Okay, whatever.” Regina answered her in an exasperated tone paired with an eye roll. What Snow did not see was the eye roll that came from her daughter as well. She like Regina felt this was a bit too touchy feely for her liking, but she would humor mother. “Well Regina since you protested, I say you should go first and just get it over with.” Snow announced to the group. “Fine. I am thankful for the three amazing men in my life and this baby that will be joining us in a few short months.” Regina said, sending a smile towards Robin and Henry who were seated on either side of her and Roland who was seated next to his father. “I’ll go next. I am grateful for this beautiful woman seated next to me and our three beautiful children. Also, I have now come to appreciate indoor plumbing and the television so I am thankful for those as well.” Robin told the group causing everyone to laugh. He leaned over and gave Regina a quick peck on the cheek, pausing to whisper in her ear “See that wasn’t so bad.” was all he said to her. She responded by sending a brief glare his way. “How about you Roland?” Snow asked the young boy. “I like my toys and movies and Henry’s video games. Oh and papa, mama, Henry, and the baby.” Roland said, not entirely sure what the word thankful meant, but he guessed based off of what Regina and Robin had said that it just meant saying things he liked. “I guess that means it’s my turn. I am thankful for my sweet and loving wife, our happy and healthy family, and being able to spend time with all of you.” Charming announced to the group. “My turn, I echo what my loving husband said. I am also thankful for second chances and rebuilding relationships.” Snow said, sending a smile towards Regina. “There is not enough rum in the world for me to do this.” Hook told the group as Emma nudged him trying to make her mother happy. “I guess I will go for the both of us. We are thankful to have each other, Henry, and these twins. I am thankful to finally have a family to come home to and parents who support me through everything.” Emma said with a tear running down her cheek. “Gah, stupid pregnancy hormones.” Emma told the group as she wiped away the tear. Hook leaned over planting a kiss in her blonde hair. “Henry, that leaves you.” Snow told her grandson. “I am thankful for having more family than I know what to do with. I am thankful for having two sets of parents and plenty of siblings to drive me crazy. Oh and my grandparents are pretty cool too. Also, since Roland got to do it, I am thankful for my video games and my comic books.” Henry said.

Once the group finished saying what they were thankful for, they started to clean up dinner. As things were starting to wind down, Robin approached Snow. “Hey, Snow can I speak with you privately for a moment?” Robin asked as discreetly as possible. “Of course.” Snow replied. Robin led her into Regina’s study and closed the door most of the way behind them. “So I won’t go into details right now, but I wanted to ask for your help. I know you and Tinkerbell have been planning a baby shower for Regina. I was wondering if you would have some time to meet up with me to discuss a surprise I want to plan for Regina at the baby shower. It wouldn’t be much more work for you, I would only need your help with one part of it. Would it be possible to meet up some time soon so I can fill you in more when there is less of a chance Regina could over hear us?” Robin asked. “Yes we can. How about you come over to the apartment one day this week after I get back from school and we can discuss it further.” Snow replied. “Thank you. And Snow, please don’t mention any of this to anyone else. Especially Regina.” Robin told Snow as he opened the door and led her out of the study. “I promise.” Snow replied.  
A short time later everyone bid their goodbyes before heading out. Henry was going home with Emma and Hook to spend some time with them. 

After showing everyone out, Regina and Robin both exhausted, collapsed on the couch and Regina snuggled into Robin, resting her head on his shoulder. Robin had put Roland to bed shortly before everyone left, so it was just the two of them. “So what were you and Snow talking about earlier?” Regina questioned him. “Oh nothing, she just had a few questions for me about stuff for the baby shower.” Robin replied, hoping she could not tell he was lying. Regina merely nodded her head before starting to fall asleep. Robin laid back on the couch moving Regina with him a bit so she would be more comfortable before falling asleep as well.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Two weeks after Thanksgiving, Emma and Killian had decided to find out what the twins were going to be. They had debated over whether to find out or keep it a surprise for everyone, including themselves. After some debate they agreed to find out and now knew the genders of both of the twins. Even though they knew what they were having they decided to wait till Christmas next week to tell everyone together. They had started discussing names before they even knew what they were having but now that they knew it would be easier on them. Right now though, they were laying on the couch whispering about names so that Henry could not hear what they were saying since they had not told him what the twins were, even though he kept trying to get it out of them. Henry was currently in his room getting ready for his first official date with Melody, and he was a nervous wreck.

“Mom!” Henry yelled from his room scaring Emma and Killian from their bubble, “I can’t decide what to wear?” Emma laughs burying her face in Hook’s neck, “Isn’t it the girl who is supposed to be stressing about what to wear?” she asks her fiance. Killian leans away and places a sweet kiss to Emma’s lips before he answers her. “Love, let me handle this,” as he tries to get up from the couch, “That means you need to let me up, Swan.” Emma reluctantly lets her pirate up from the couch to help her son when she heard a knock on the apartment door. “Hey Regina,” she said opening the door, “What’s going on?” “Can’t I come to see my son off on his first date, Miss Swan,” Regina retorts. “Of course, I’m sorry. Killian’s in his room with him right now. He couldn’t decide what to wear,” Emma chuckled as she led Regina to the living room. “Can I get you something to drink?” Emma asks. Regina sits on the couch and rubs her 25 week belly before asking, “Do you have any chamomile tea?” Emma nods her head, “Chamomile tea coming right up,” as she heads into the kitchen to make the tea and a new hot chocolate for herself.

“Hey love, I think… Oh good evening Madame Mayor,” Killian says coming down the hall, “I think the lad has finally figured out his clothing situation.” he tells the two women waiting in the living room. Both women smiled and nodded as they took a sip of their drinks. “What time is he picking her up?” Regina asks while sipping on her drink. “Dad is dropping off Mom and Neal then he is driving him over to the Christensen house while the rest of us get family dinner started around 5.” Emma answers, starting to get up from her seat to get more to drink when Hook stops her and takes her cup to refill it so she does not have to.

Henry comes out of his room as Hook finishes pouring Emma’s drink and a knock is heard coming through the door. “Come in,” Emma calls from the couch as Henry pulls his charcoal dress coat over his crisp white shirt and navy, plaid tie as her parents come through the door with her baby brother, who runs to climb into her lap. “You look very handsome Henry,” Regina says standing up to straighten his collars, “Have fun tonight, sweetheart.” she tells him trying to hide how nervous she is about her son going on his first official date. Henry gives her a hug and kiss on the cheek, “Thanks Mom. I will; love you.” he tells Regina before he heads over and does the same thing with Emma. A minute later Henry and David walk out the door.

On the way over Henry fiddled with the bow on top of the Christmas present he had for Melody. He could not believe Christmas was in a week and he was going on his first ever official date with a girl. “Henry, stop fidgeting. You will be just fine. Just be yourself.” David told him as they pulled up in from of the house. “Thanks Gramps!” Henry said as he got out of the truck and headed to the door.

Henry took a deep breathe before he knocked on the door. When it opened Princess Ariel was standing just inside, “Hello, Henry. Come on in. Melody is almost ready and then we will drive you.” she told the nervous young man standing on her front porch. “Thank you, ma’am,” Henry says as he steps in and catches Melody coming down the stairs in a beautiful green sweater dress. “Henry…” Melody says after she reaches the bottom of the stairs, “are you okay?” Henry takes a breath and looks back at Melody, “You look absolutely beautiful,” he tells her pulling her into a hug as she flushed pink and they heard Ariel let out a sweet “Awwww.” As they pulled apart Henry sat down Melody’s gift and grabbed her coat to help her put it on as he had watched all of the male figures in his life do with their loves.

“Are we ready to go,” Prince Eric says as he comes in and sees Melody buttoning her coat. “Yes we are, Daddy.” She says picking up her gift she got for Henry before grabbing his hand. Getting a glare from her father, she just rolled her eyes as Henry tried to remove his hand as she held it tighter and headed to the car. Henry and Melody did not let go of each other’s hands, though they kept getting a look from Prince Eric, the whole way to Granny’s. “We will pick you up outside at seven-thirty.” Ariel told them before they got out and headed in. He led her to a back booth where they could have a little bit of privacy for their date.

_Ruby: **They just came in and sat at a far booth away from everyone, across from each other.**_

“Ruby just texted that they are there,” Emma said louder than she planned to Regina. “You’re having Ruby text you? Are you crazy, love?” Killian asks her crossing his arms as both her’s and Regina’s phones vibrate and before they can grab them their fiances do.

_Ruby: **Awww… They are so cute. They are holding hands across the table.**_

“Love, you need to tell her to stop. It’s not right to have a friend spy on your son’s date. How would you feel if you parents had spied on us?” Killian tells her as he hands back her phone. “I agree with Hook, mi’lady. This isn’t right.” Robin hands Regina back her phone too.

_Emma: **Ruby, no more texts about Henry and Melody. Leave them be except for serving them. Thanks!**_

As they finished getting dinner ready they talked about Christmas plans for next week. Regina and Emma discussed what they had gotten Henry to make sure that they had not gotten him the same thing. Emma could not wait for Christmas. She, Henry, and Hook had decorated the apartment and she was loving the smells of Christmas all around her especially this year with the pregnancy and engagement. It also made her look forward to next Christmas when the twins will be having their first holidays along with Robin and Regina’s little one. Emma had not realized she zoned out until she felt Killian put his hand on her stomach. “Love, dinner is ready. Are you going to join us?” Killian kissed her cheek before leading her to the table.

Henry and Melody had talked about everything they could think of. Henry could not help but just stare at her when she talked because of how beautiful he thought she was and how much she loved talking about certain things. She told him all about living under the sea with her grandfather, and her aunts and their families. She missed them and the water, but she loved being back with her parents and being in Storybrooke. Henry smiled at her, “Mel, how about you open your Christmas present,” Henry says as he hands the gift across the table. Melody opens the present and begins to chuckle,” Henry, I love it. Thank you!” she squeezes his hand across the table, looking down at all three of The Little Mermaid movies. “We should watch them sometime. I want to know how this world sees my family.” she tells him. It’s Henry’s turn to chuckle before saying, “They definitely see you guys better than they do my dads. You’ll have to see those movies sometime too.” he tells her. Henry had recently started calling Robin and Hook dad from time to time. While they would never replace his actual father, he enjoyed having two strong male figures in his life to help guide him. It was taking some time to get used to calling them dad, but slowly he was making the transition and felt that it was appropriate giving their relationships with his moms and the role they were playing in his life.

“How do you think the date is going?” Regina asks in the middle of dinner. “Sweetheart, don’t worry so much about what is going on. You raised an amazing young man. You both have,” Robin tells her, as he looks to Emma. “He knows how to treat a girl and he will more than likely tell you both all about it so worry about feeding yourselves and the babies and all will be fine.” Robin continued with his reassurances. As both women looked at each other before getting back to eating their dinner.

They all choose to move to the living room for dessert so that they could wait on Henry for a family game and they could watch Neal and Roland play. They enjoyed some lava cake with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream as both Regina and Emma wanted something really chocolatey. Looking at the clock Emma realized she had forgotten to ask Henry what time he would be back so they could have game night.

_Emma: **Hey kid, sorry for interrupting. Just wanted to know what time you would be back to the apartment for game night.**_

_Henry: **Hey Mom, Melody’s parents are picking us up from Granny’s at seven-thirty. Can she stay for game night?**_

_Emma: **Sure kid!**_

Emma relayed Henry’s messages to the rest of the group and they all continued to talk about life and the babies. “So Emma ready to tell us what the twins are yet?” Snow sneaks into the conversation as Neal climbs into Emma’s lap, “Emmy!” Neal whines placing his little hands on Emma’s belly, “Baby!” he exclaims excitedly. Emma can’t help but smile at her baby brother, “Yeah, babies. Is Mommy trying to use you to get to me?” she fake glares at her mother when Snow says, “Well I thought you would fall for his sweet face.” Snow replied. “Sorry Mom, not happening. You can wait one more week.” Emma tells her as she pulls her baby brother farther into her arms as he lies his head on her shoulder and falls asleep.

After texting his mom and opening his gift, Monopoly; Avengers Edition, he and Melody chose to share a dessert. They continued to talk about school and the different adventures they had been on. They finished their hot chocolate and decided to get some to go before waiting outside for Prince Eric and Princess Ariel while watching the snow fall around them. This was Melody’s first winter so Henry was telling her all the things they could do when there was more snow on the ground. Melody laces her fingers with Henry’s before saying, “Henry,” she paused catching his eyes, “are you ever going to kiss me?” she innocently asks the question she’s been dying to ask all night. Henry’s eyes widen, “Ummm…. I didn’t think you would want me to.” he replies. Shyly Melody ducks her head, “Of course I do Henry.” Without another word Henry leans forward and places a sweet, chaste kiss to Melody’s lips. What neither of them realized was that they were being watched.

_Ruby: **HENRY JUST KISSED HER!!!!!!**_

When two cells phones vibrated simultaneously Hook and Robin knew that Ruby did not listen to the no spying rule. “You can look,” they say as the same time to their fiancees. Both looking at their phones, their jaws dropping as Regina shrieks, “He did what?!?!?” At this, Robin pulls the phone from her hands to read the text before he starts laughing getting a glare from his future wife. Wanting to know what is going on with their son Killian reads the text over his love’s shoulder before letting out a chuckle of his own getting an elbow to the stomach, “Aye, love, bad form.” Emma rolls her eyes, “Oh boo hoo pirate.” She looks over at him with a pout before whining, “I’m not ready for this.” burying her face in her hands.

Pulling away from Melody, Henry cannot help the smile that graces his lips as he watches her lift her fingers to touch her’s. Now Henry understood why his parents were always kissing and their’s was quick unlike the kisses he had seen his parents and grandparents share. After a couple minutes of sitting in silence still holding hands Henry finally spoke, “Melody, would you like to join family game night with my family tonight?” Melody squeezed his hand smiling at him, “I would love to Henry.” Before she can say anything else Henry puts his hand on her cheek and gave her another kiss but this time it was longer, harder, and for a fifteen year old who did not know what he was doing, more intense. Henry pulled away and whispered sorry before taking a drink of his rapidly cooling hot chocolate. “Henry, why are you sorry? It’s not like it bothered me. I did ask,” Melody forces him to look at her. “The first time you did,” Henry lets out a sigh, “but the second time you didn’t and I’m sorry.” he continues turning his head to look towards the ground. Before he could though, Melody leaned in and gave him another kiss before saying, “Henry, there is nothing to be sorry about. We are 15 but I think it would be best if Daddy never caught us or he might have grandpa turn you into a merman.” Henry looks at her with a worried look on his face before they both burst into laughter.

_Ruby: **He just kissed her again!**_

_Ruby: **Wait, now she just kissed him! Can your son please stop growing up!**_

The closer it got to the time for Henry and Melody to get there the more his moms wanted him home. The last two texts have his moms in worried mode. Neither one is ready for Henry to grow up too fast and kind of want this relationship to slow down already. Emma keeps running through her head that she was only two years older than Henry when she found out she was pregnant with him. She did not want that for him and knew that Regina did not want that either. They both knew that with the family Henry has he will know what is right and wrong when it comes to dating and relationships. Emma though, feels like she is a bad example since all her pregnancies have been out of wedlock, but she also knows that the loving relationships she and Killian along with Regina and Robin and her parents show him every day he will know that love is all that matters. Looking over at Hook with a smile she leans toward him and looks at his lips before he get the clue and places a kiss to her lips as she adjusts Neal into a more comfortable position on her shoulder.

Henry looked at the time on his phone to see how long they had until Melody’s parents showed up. “What time is it?” she asks seeing what he was doing. He looks up at her with a smile, “Seven-twenty. Would you like another hot chocolate?” Henry asks. Melody nods her head to answer and they head inside to get another cup each. They are waiting for it when they see her parents pull up; grabbing the cups Ruby sat on the counter, a second later, they head back outside. Opening the door, Henry takes Melody’s cup before handing it back to her after she was in so that he could get in too. They tell her parents all about the date on the drive to the apartment, leaving out the kisses they shared. When they get to the apartment they tell her parents thank you and that Snow and David will drop her off later. Before opening the door Henry gives her one last kiss of the night.

Walking through the door Henry cannot help but chuckle. His moms are sleeping with their heads on their respective loves shoulders, and a hand on their pregnant bellies. Roland is asleep with his head in his mom’s lap and Neal is asleep on Emma’s shoulder still. His dads are watching an action film quietly on the television. Looking to his right he sees his grandparents doing dishes in between innocent kisses and teasing each other. Having heard the door open Killian looks up from the television, “Hey how was your date,” he whispers pressing a kiss to Emma’s head as she snuggled closer never loosening her grip on her brother. Henry looked at Melody and smiled, “It was good. Are we still having game night?” Henry looked between the two male figures in his life waiting on one of them to answer. Robin finally nodded and told him they would but they were going to let his mothers sleep. Henry agreed and they set about playing his new game with all of them helping Robin and Hook move their pieces around the board since they could not move much without disturbing the sleeping women.

Once the game ended they realized it was getting late and Melody needed to get home. “Snow leave Neal,” Killian said as his future mother-in-law went to pick him up, “We have his travel bed, he can stay here. So can you, Regina and Roland,” He tells Robin, “So you don’t have to wake them.” further elaborating on why he was offering. Robin nodded his head, applying a gentle kiss to his son’s forehead before doing the same to Regina, being careful not to wake either of them. David carried Roland into Henry’s room laying him on the trundle bed as Robin carefully picked up Regina and carried her into the guest bedroom. Regina did not wake at the movement, she merely gave a quiet groan before snuggling into Robin’s arms. Neal was moved into the corner of the master bedroom when Hook started to get Emma in that direction as well. “Come on, love, lets get to bed.” He tells her wrapping his hook around her waist as he waved bye to everyone and ushered Henry into his room after he had locked the door.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26 (B)(Christmas)**

 

    Ever since his first date, Friday, the week had been crazy. Henry was trying to spend as much time with both moms and at the same time wanting to spend time with Melody. Henry was spending his days with Melody while his parents were at work but since the first time that they got caught kissing on Emma’s couch, Monday, they were no longer allowed to be in a home without an adult present. Emma had caught them when she came home from work and to say that her reaction was less than pleasant would be an understatement. She did not want her son to follow in her footsteps and become a teen parent. All the parents had sat down to discuss it with them. Prince Eric was not thrilled even with them being supervised but his daughter was happy and that was all that mattered to him as long as it did not go any farther. Since then during the day they were at the Christensen house since Ariel did not work and could be there to keep an eye on the kids. Despite the near constant supervision they were now under, the two still managed to sneak in the occasional innocent kiss.

    Christmas Eve was finally upon them and nobody could believe it. Everything in Storybrooke was closed and children were out playing in the snow including Henry and Roland while their parents watched them from the kitchen as they made dinner. “Just think, at this time next year there will be another child to be chasing around. Well maybe not chasing around quite yet, but soon after.” Robin said wrapping his arms around her waist. “I can’t wait. Then we can have another stocking hanging from the mantle in the living room.” she replied. Robin kissed her on the cheek before going back to making dinner. 

 

Regina was glad to have Henry home for Christmas Eve and tomorrow everyone would be coming over for Christmas after separate mornings but she, also knew Emma was missing Henry. She had decided to invite Emma and Hook over early so they could spend some time with Henry on Christmas morning. She and Robin were finishing up dinner when they heard the two boys come in the back door. “Take off all your snow gear and wash up, dinner is almost ready,” Regina told the boys before they came to the table. The two boys took off their boots and gloves before they waddled off to the coat closet to hang up their winter coats and snow pants. 

 

After dinner, they were going to watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer so Robin and Roland could see it. Henry actually fell asleep on the couch watching the movie. He had stayed up late playing video games the night before and combining that with playing in the snow for a few hours had worn him out. Roland on the other hand made it through the whole movie despite his frequent yawning and struggling to keep his eyes open. They sent both boys up to bed, which allowed them some time to set up for the morning.

 

Regina headed off to the kitchen to find the hidden candy to put in the stockings for the boys while Robin made his way upstairs to grab the presents they had for both the boys. What neither one of them knew was that they were also grabbing the gifts they had gotten for each other. They situated the presents under the tree they had decorated the weekend before. Regina and Roland had made a few ornaments to add to the tree, so Robin and Roland could have a few ornaments of their own on the tree. Once they were both satisfied with how the presents looked under the tree, Regina led Robin upstairs to their room to give him his other Christmas present. Well, if she was being honest it was for her too she thought with a little smirk on her face.

 

The next morning Regina awoke to the pitter patter of little feet running towards their door. She propped herself up slightly on Robin’s chest trying to not wake him as she shifted in his arms to get a look at the alarm clock to see what time is was. 4:48 am, she was hoping they could at least make it till 5:30. She leaned over to lightly press her lips to Robin’s trying to wake him. He stirred and groggily asked “What you didn’t get enough of me last night?” he included a mischievous smile with the question. “As lovely as that would be, I think we are going to have an extra little person in our bed in 3, 2, 1.” Regina replied and as if on cue, their door flew open and Roland took a running leap into their bed. “Mama, papa, It’s Christmas!!!” the little boy yelled excitedly at them. Regina remembered Henry at this age, her wake up call coming between 3:30 and 5 in the morning every year for about 10 years on Christmas morning. “Yes it is my little star. What do you say we lay in bed for a little bit? Then we can go get Henry in a little bit.” Regina proposed her plan to the young boy, hoping to get a little bit more sleep. “I want to go see my presents now though.” Roland whined. “I know sweetie but it is still very early in the morning and we have a full day of festivities, so we all need our rest to have the most fun we can later today.” Regina tried to convince the 5 year old. She nudged Robin for help, having noticed he had fallen back to sleep. “Mama’s right buddy.” Robin said still half asleep. “Fine, but can I stay in here with you guys?” Roland asked. “Of course.” Regina responded, opening her arms for the little boy to cuddle up to her. He squirmed for about 15 minutes before finally falling back asleep. Regina soon followed, letting her eyelids drift closed.

 

They slept like this for another hour until just after 6 am when Regina felt Roland’s cold nose bumping into hers. The little boy was wearing the same mischievous smile his father often wore. “Now can we open presents?” Roland asked. “Sure, go wake your brother and I’ll wake up your dad.” Regina told her extremely eager son. Once he left the room, Regina rolled herself over on top of Robin, kissing him a bit harder than she did when Roland woke them up the first time. He responded to her kiss and began to kiss her back almost immediately. “Come on, Roland will not be kept waiting.” Regina told him as she began to pull her lips away from Robin. She did not make it very far before he placed a hand to the back of her head in order to pull her lips back to his for a more adequate good morning kiss. They shared a few heated kisses wrapping their arms around each other, before Regina again pulled away. “Much better, now we can go open gifts.” Robin said. They both got out of bed, Robin helping Regina put on her robe before putting his own on.

 

When they made it downstairs there were two very excited boys waiting to open their presents. “Time to open presents! Henry and I already sorted them out so everyone has their own pile!” Roland said with huge smile as he sat next to his pile. The boys took turns opening their presents from their parents. Roland had received a rather large track for his Hotwheels cars, several movies, some other toys including blocks and a stuffed animal he had been asking for. Henry received several comic books. video games, and movies including both The Avengers movies which he was very excited about. “Mom and dad, now you guys need to open your presents.” Henry told them all the while listening to Roland tell him all about the games he wanted to play with his new toys.

 

Regina grabbed the box that contained the present from Robin first. She unwrapped it to find a black velvet jewelry box. She opened the box to find a beautiful sterling silver family tree necklace very similar to the necklace she had when she was younger. This one however had gems representing her and Robin’s birthstones as well as the birthstones of both boys. There was also a space for their daughter’s birthstone to go after she was born. “Robin it’s beautiful. Thank you.” Regina said removing it from the box and handing it to Robin so he could put it on her. “Almost as beautiful as the woman wearing it.” Robin said as he finished fastening the clasp of the necklace. Regina turned to face Robin and deliver an appreciative kiss to his lips. When they withdrew from the kiss, Robin opened his present from her. It was the new bow he had been talking about getting for months, but had yet to actually buy. “Regina it’s perfect.” Robin said kissing her again to let her know how grateful he was. Regina then went to open her present from both of the boys which Robin had taken them to go get. It was a baby book that could be used for their new little sister. They had already placed the ultrasound picture in it from when they had gone with their parents to find out they were having a sister. “I love it boys.” she said leaving her place next to Robin on the couch to place kisses to the top of both of their heads. The last gift they had to open was the present the boys both got for Robin. They had a little help from Regina who clued them in about her present for Robin. When he opened it he found a brand new set of arrows to go with the bow Regina had gotten him. “Thank you very much you two. Now we just have to get mama to agree to let you guys go out with me and learn to shoot.” Robin told them, sending a wink in Regina’s directions. “Well I guess you two boys can play with a few of your new toys and watch a movie while your dad and I go make breakfast, but after breakfast you both have to head upstairs and get ready before everyone gets here.” Regina told them before heading into the kitchen with Robin following closely behind.

Meanwhile, Emma and Killian were enjoying a night alone of not having to whisper about the twins. Hook had made a romantic dinner for him and Emma before they decide to curl up on the couch and watch The Hallmark Movie,  _ A Christmas Card _ . After the movie ended, Emma and Killian decided to exchange their Christmas presents then instead of waiting till the next morning this way they could sleep in until having to be at Regina and Robin. Hook had gotten up from the couch to grab the presents from under the tree when Emma told him she would be right back. Instead of going to the bathroom, like she told him, she went into their closet and grabbed the box she had kept hidden from him for a few weeks now. Emma was nervous as she pulled the new red lingerie out of the box before slipping it on over her baby bump. She wasn’t completely comfortable with how big her bump had gotten but she knew that Hook would love it because it opened around her bump and he loved placing kisses on it for the twins. 

 

    Emma came out of the room with her flannel pajamas back on over top of the lingerie she was wearing because she didn’t want Killian to know she had changed yet. Coming out she saw Hook sitting on the couch with his gift from her sitting in his lap as he tried to contemplate what was in the box he was not allowed to open. “Babe,” Emma said coming to stand next to him, “How about we move the coffee table and make a bed of blankets and pillows on the floor so we can cuddle near the fire and the Christmas tree?” He smiles up at her before standing up to give her a kiss and starts to set things up as Emma moves into the kitchen to make them both a hot chocolate. She thought about popping some popcorn but if she had her way they would not be watching another movie that night. Heading back into the living room, Killian took the drink from her before setting them down and then helping her get settled into her seat between his legs. “Love, how about you open your gift first?” Killian says handing her small square box. Opening up the box Emma sees a necklace that matched the exact stone that lays in her engagement ring that has not been moved from her left hand. 

 

    Emma turned around and placed a sweet kiss to his lips before telling him to open his gift. As he opened the box he saw a picture of Emma with two ribbons tied around her belly that signified the twins. He could not have loved this picture and it’s frame more and he could not wait to add a new picture to it every year with Emma and their twins. “I love it Swan! I can’t wait to add a new picture next year that will represent the twins’ First Christmas. Can you believe that in a year we will have two new little ones to spoil for Christmas?” Killian says as he places kisses to her neck. He did not want to stop but their time together had not been the same since they found out she was pregnant and even though he wanted things to change he knew that all of it was up to Emma since it’s her body that is currently changing in order to house their children. “I’m glad you like it,” she says turning sideways in his arms, “I wanted to do our gifts tonight because I did not want anyone to see this since it reveals the sex of the babies and we already have a plan for tomorrow. So where are you going to put the frame?” She asks as he continues to kiss her neck before finding her lips with his own. “My bedside table,” he says not stopping what he is doing. 

 

Without Killian realizing anything Emma had managed to unbutton her flannel top before asking him to look at her. When he did he saw the bright red teddy she was wearing and he knew just where their night was heading. Instead of taking his fiancee to bed they decided to stay in the living room and made love by the fire. “Love, can we do this every year, like our own little tradition,” he asked as she laid with her head on his chest, fingers running through the dark hair that could be found there. “I would love to say yes, Killian, but it can’t happen in front of the fire every year. We will have kids and it would be much safer behind the closed, locked doors of our bedroom but I could enchant our room so we can be as loud as we want and the kids won’t hear us but we will be able to hear them.” She tells him before smirking up at him and placing a kiss to the underside of his chin.  They continued to talk and cuddle well into the early morning of Christmas until they fell asleep after one last time of making love by the fire. 

 

When Hook woke up the next morning he and Emma had both rolled and now he was lying behind her with his hand resting on her baby bump. Without waking her up he was able to extract himself from their makeshift bed in order to go make her breakfast in the kitchen. They had to be at Regina’s around 10 o’clock and they both needed to shower before they could even think of leaving the house. He started the kettle for hot chocolate before pulling out everything he needed in order to make Emma chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and hash browns for breakfast. Hearing the sound of crackling and the smell of bacon cooking on the stove Emma rolled over onto her back before stretching and getting to her feet. Walking into the kitchen she wraps her arms around Killians waist before placing a kiss between his shoulder blades. He turns his head around after that in order to place a passionate kiss to her lips before he had to turn back around in order to not burn any of the food. Emma and Killian enjoyed breakfast before joining each other in shower before they had to leave. Since they chose for some extracurricular activities in the shower they were running late by the time they got all the gifts into the Bug. 

 

When they arrived at the mayoral mansion Henry greeted them at the door, “Merry Christmas Mom,” he said giving her a hug and she placed a kiss on his head before he moved on to Killian. “Merry Christmas, Dad.” Killian couldn’t help but smile because he never thought he would be hearing someone call him dad but now he had Henry and the twins. “Come on in. Mom, Robin and Roland are already upstairs to give us our time with just the three of us. Need help getting the presents?” Henry tells them as he moves back so that they could come inside. “No, kid, they are already in the living room Emma said after a wave of her hand, why she did not do that back at the apartment Killian could not figure out. “So, Henry,” Killian starts, “Do you want to open them all now or wait to open some?” Henry thought about it for a minute before asking if they were all appropriate for everyone to see or if there was any he should open with just them. He was hoping he would find out what the twins were going to be before everyone else. “There is one that will have to be kept a secret until everyone else but the others can be opened in front of everyone else if that’s the way you want to do it,” Emma tells him as she takes a seat on the couch. “Then how about we do it that way,” Henry says, “This way I have more gifts to open later.” 

 

Killian moves to pick up the box that he and Emma got for him. He could not wait to see what Henry’s reaction was going to be. As he sat back down with Emma, he put his arm around her as they watched their oldest open the gift. When Henry saw what was inside he looked up at his mom with a huge smile, “Really?” he asked. Emma could not help the tears that come with watching him open that gift. “Yes, really. Is that okay with you?” She had been worried about what his reaction was going to be. “Mom, I couldn’t be more excited,” Henry tells her, hugging them both. “Mom, I don’t have a gift for you to open right now because I want you to open it later when everyone is here. Is that okay?” Henry looked worried about what Emma’s response would be. “That’s fine, Henry. I’m more than happy just spending this time with you and Killian,” she tells him before he heads back to the tree to grab a gift. Handing it to Hook he sat back down on the floor as Killian stared at the wrapping before opening it. Opening the box he found a new satchel with ‘Jones’ embroidered on it just like Liam’s was. Opening up the satchel since he could feel there was something in it he pulled out a new telescope since his was lost after trading the Jolly Roger along with a new pocket watch. “Thank you Henry,” he started to say before he needed to take a minute, “I will treasure these always.” Henry was glad that gift he got Killian was something that he would enjoy having. 

 

After hanging around for a little bit longer Henry went upstairs to get his mom, Robin and Roland who were watching  _ Santa Clause _ while snuggled together in the master bed. He told them that they could come downstairs and he was happy to be spending the rest of Christmas with all of them together. Henry had put his gift from Emma and Hook back in the box and it was currently tucked under the gift that Henry had gotten Killian. “So Emma what did Henry get you? He wouldn’t tell me,” Regina said looking at her son’s other mother. “I don’t know. He told me I had to open it later,” Emma tells her shrugging her shoulders before Robin handed her a mug of hot chocolate to drink. “That’s the same thing he told me. Now I’m really suspicious.” Regina eyed her son as he just let out a laugh before he continued reading one of Roland’s new books to him.

 

At noon, David, Snow, and Neal showed up so that they could do Christmas with them before they were going to have Christmas dinner. As they all sat around the living room they decided to do youngest to oldest, according to current age not Enchanted Forest age, so that the two youngest boys would not get bored and could play while everyone else opened their gifts. Since Neal was first Snow had him in her lap as Charming held the gifts for him to rip the wrapping paper off. Once he was done opening his gifts it was actually time for his nap so Emma volunteered to take him into the other room since she wanted some time with her baby brother. “Merry Christmas, baby bro,” she said kissing him on the forehead, “I love you.” After laying him down in the pack and play she went back out to join everyone else. It was Roland’s turn for gifts and the little boy just could not sit still. 

 

    Roland had already opened gifts from his parents and Henry so he only had gifts from the Charmings and Emma and Killian. After thanking Snow and David for their gifts he went on to Emma’s and Killian’s. First, they got him a book that had the fairytales of the modern world instead of Henry’s version and the real stories. It, also, had many of the nursery rhymes in it too. The gift he was most excited about though was a toy bow that looked just like his Papa’s. “Daddy, Mommy, can I go play with it now,” he asked jumping up and down. “What do you say?” Regina asked him with a look on her face. Running over to  them and giving them a hug Roland yells, “Thank you Aunt Emma and Uncle Killian!” Robin stands up to get his son, “Sorry but now is not playtime. You need to take a rest and then you can play.” He steers his son toward the stairs. A short while later and it was time for Henry to open the rest of the gifts from his mom, and Killian along with the ones from his Grandparents. He got some more comic books, video games, and clothes from his parents but nothing would beat his gift from earlier. After opening his gift from his grandparents and thanking them he could not decide how he wanted to do his next gift. Emma was the next one for gifts but since Henry wanted his moms to open their gifts that he got them at the same time everyone was okay with Regina getting to open her gift as well. Handing a heavy box to each other his dads for them to hold he stood back and watched. Opening the boxes, Emma and Regina both gasped inside was a duplicate of Henry’s storybook. He had gotten August’s help in order to make it possible. His moms could not have been happier with those gifts. Emma continued opening gifts but the one  that touched her the most was the gift from Regina. She had given Emma, Henry’s favorite blanket and stuffed animal from when he was a baby so that his little siblings would have something that was passed down from him just like her little girl would. 

    Gifts continued to get opened and everyone seemed happy with what they got except for Snow. “Mom,” Emma catches her attention, “What’s wrong?” she asks. Snow sighs, looking at her husband before saying, “Nothing, sweetheart, I’m fine.” Emma lets out a groan before getting up and moving over to her mom. “I don’t need my gift to know that you are lying. What’s really wrong?” Snow holds her daughter’s hand before looking over at her future son-in-law, “I guess I was just hoping that you were going to give us a gift that would reveal the gender of the twins. Don’t mind me. I’m just being crazy.” Emma let out a chuckle before standing up and joining Killian in the middle of the living room, “We are going to tell you but it’s a surprise how and we want to do it after dinner. If that’s okay?” Everyone agreed to wait till then but Emma was glad that at least Henry now knew and that he was happy about it. The men sat around watching Christmas movies while the three women spent time in the kitchen finishing up the dinner that Regina had started earlier in the day. Once dinner was ready they sat around the dining room table sharing stories of the past and talking about how different next year would be with three babies at the table. 

When dinner was over it was dark out so Emma asked everyone to put on their outerwear and join her on the back porch. When they were all outside Hook stood behind Emma with his hands on her belly as she moved her hands to make the sky explode with fireworks just like she had the night she decided not to give up her magic. Looking at her daughter, then up at the sky and back to her daughter Snow exclaims, “The babies are GIRLS!” Emma and KIllian cannot help but laugh as they watch pink and purple fireworks dance across the sky, with another flick of her wrist the fireworks formed the word ‘IDENTICAL’ which causes all of them to gasp. Henry could not help but smile thinking back to the present his parents got him. Just like Hook’s it was a picture frame, but his said ‘my sisters’ instead of ‘my girls’. He could not believe he was going to be the big brother to three sisters. He knew for sure that when it came time for them to date, their future boyfriends would have to worry about him, Roland, and Neal as much as they would have to worry about their dads and their grandpa. After everyone congratulated Emma and Killian they all started to pack up and go back to their own homes. Henry would be joining Emma and Killian at the apartment since he spend Christmas Eve with Regina and Robin. 


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

 

The week after Christmas was becoming just as crazy. Henry was going back and forth between houses again and since Ariel had left to go see her dad and sisters, he was not allowed to hang out with Melody, so they got by with texting each other while he hung out with Roland, watching him while his parents were at work. Granny was going to be opening up the diner on New Year’s Eve for a select few patrons for a New Year’s bash. Everyone was working that day except for Snow and Regina so they decided to get the boys together and hang out for the day before they had to get ready for the party. 

 

Emma and David were patrolling town while Robin had the forest and Killian had the docks. “How have you been feeling?” David asked his daughter as they were driving down Main Street. Emma smiled placing her hands on her belly, “Much better now that I’m almost halfway through.” She and Killian were happier now that they could discuss the girls openly including going through baby names with Henry. They had decided they wanted him to be involved in the process. Henry wanted them to use Eva and Marie.  While they liked them they did not want them as first names but, maybe, as middle names. KIllian’s favorites were Ansleigh and he agreed with Henry on Marie since it means ‘Of the Sea’. Emma was partial to Kensington and Ryan because it sounded royal and means ‘Descendent of the King’, respectively. She and Killian had decided on names but choose to tell everyone after the girls were born. 

 

Since they were not going to tell anyone the names they made sure not to even tell people they had picked them. Henry did not even know they had decided. They were randomly throwing out first and middle names paired together asking him what he thought of them so that he felt connected. Henry never discussed any of the options either beyond the three of them, since he knew what his grandparents would be partial toward.  Thankfully, the two names that they had agreed on for their little girls Henry had also agreed on without even knowing that he did. Emma and David ended their patrol and headed home to get ready while Killian and Robin finished up. Killian heard the shower on when he got back and was headed to join his fiancee when he heard Henry talking in his room. Thinking that the lad was on the phone he ignored it until he heard a girl laugh and talk. Hearing this Hook flung the door open to see his son and his girlfriend lying on his bed. 

 

“Out of this room NOW!” Killian scolded as he heard the shower in the master bathroom shut off. “Dad, Mom knew she was here,” Henry tries to plead his case as Hook shakes his head. “Just go into the living room,” Killian tells him as he enters his and Emma’s bedroom as she is drying herself. “Okay, what’s wrong?” Emma asks when she sees that Killian is not checking her out like he usually would when she is getting dressed. “Swan, did you know that Melody was here?” Emma looks up from her drawer with a shocked look on her face. “That’s what I thought. Not only is she here and I found them alone in his room, but he also lied right to my face. Come on love, they are in the living room waiting for us.” Killian tells her as he places his head in his hand. Emma pulled on a pair of sweats instead of her outfit for the night before grabbing her fiance’s hand and pulling him toward their son, “Come see how a grounding is dished out.” 

 

Walking into the living room Emma did not let go of Killian’s hand; one so she would at least stay a little more calm and two because she knew that by him holding her hand she would not use any magic that could make anyone even more mad. Looking at the two teenagers sitting on her couch she could feel the anger continue to build inside of her. “Melody, you need to go home, but understand I will be contacting your parents to let them know what happened. Also, don’t expect Henry to be able to call, text, or hang out with you for a little while.” Emma tells her as she moves toward the door to open it for her. Melody looks back at Henry with a sad face as she walked out the door. “Mom…” Henry starts as she closes the door. “Don’t even start Henry. Go get ready to go to Granny’s we will talk about this after I talk to Regina.” Emma tells him grabbing Killian’s hand to head back to their room to get ready. As she closes the door she pulls him to her before placing a passionate kiss to his lips. “What was that for?” he asks as Emma pulls away and heads to the dresser to grab her phone to text Regina. “I didn’t get a proper hello earlier so I thought I’d get one now.” Emma says with a smirk as she pulls up her text messaging. 

 

_ Emma:  _ **_We need to talk about Henry before the party. Meet here or at your place?_ **

 

_ Regina: _ **_What’s going on? Let’s meet here so Roland can be in his room and not be present for the discussion…_ **

 

_ Emma:  _ **_Sounds good we will see you in twenty minutes. Will explain everything then._ **

 

Putting her phone down Emma yells down to Henry’s room that he better be ready in 10 minutes and that they are headed to Regina and Robin’s as soon as her and Killian finish getting ready. Emma grabbed her black lace top and a pair of jeans to put on while Hook chose to wear something similar to what he wore on their first date. After getting dressed Emma slipped into her booties and headed to grab her red leather jacket while they waited for Henry at the front door. He came out wearing jeans and a nice sweater but had a worried look on his face. The ride over to Regina’s was quiet and nobody chose to talk, this only made Henry worry more. Pulling up to the house the all got out before Emma knocked on the door making sure Henry was in front of her and Killian. Robin opened the door and greeted them. “Why don’t you guys go into the living room, while Killian and I get drinks. Regina is already in there and Roland is already upstairs in his room playing.” Henry tried to take his time getting to the living room but Emma walked behind him making him speed up. He knew that he was going to be grounded, he just did not know for how long. This is the only thing he did not like about having two moms and two dads, his punishments were worse. 

 

As they entered the living room Regina had a hard stare on her face because she wanted to know what was going on. Her facial expression and body language softened though as Robin handed her the tea he had made her and settled down next to her on the couch. “So what’s going on? Why did we have to meet before the party?” Regina asked looking at her son and his other mother. “Henry, why don’t you tell her,” Emma says giving him a look, like you better tell her or your punishment will be worse. Taking a deep breath he told Regina that Melody was at the apartment and was lying in his bed with him. “And…” Emma prompted him to finish the story. “Hook found us and when he asked about it I lied and said that Mom knew she was there when she didn’t because I snuck her in after Mom was already in the shower.” Henry finished the story, not looking at any of his parents. “Henry, why don’t you go up to your room while we discuss this. We will let you know when you can come down,” Robin asked him, looking around the room and assuming he was the calmest of the group at the moment. “And leave your phone on the coffee table,” Regina finished what her fiance had not. Henry dropped his phone on the table before doing what he was told and going to his room.

 

“How did it come to this and why were they lying around on his bed?” Regina asked as a rhetorical question. Emma just looked at her before shaking her head. “What do we do? What do we make his punishment? I can’t believe this is happening!” Emma started freaking out until she felt the gentle pressure of Killian’s hand on her lower back. “I feel like a grounding needs to be enforced. No phone, television, or video games for a week and he’s not allowed to see Melody outside of school.” Regina said when nobody else spoke up. Emma and Killian nodded to each other before agreeing to those terms. After calling Henry down and telling him they all got ready to head out the door to Granny’s. Before pulling away from the curb Emma pulled up her text messages again. 

 

_ Emma:  _ **_Just want to let you both know that Henry is grounded for the next week. While I was in the shower getting ready for the party tonight he snuck Melody in and they were hanging out in his room which is off limits. He then told Killian that I knew she was there. Sorry to have to drop this on you on a night like tonight, but just thought you should know._ **

 

_ Ariel:  _ **_Thank you for letting us know. We will be sure to have a talk with Melody. We will see you later at Granny’s._ **

 

Pulling up to Granny’s and parking out back the three of them got out before they told Henry he could go on ahead. “Sorry for all of this love,” Killian said pulling her flush against him. “Hook, there is nothing to be sorry for. He knew what he was doing and he knew better so don’t worry about it.” Emma tells him before placing a kiss to his lips as his hand rubs along her belly as Emma tells him that one of them is kicking, hoping he would finally be able to feel it. They head through the back door of Granny’s where they are greeted by her parents and told that Henry is moping in a booth with a book and will not talk to either of them. Emma goes to move toward the booth but feels Hook pulling her back, “Let me handle this, love,” he says before placing a kiss to her cheek and going to join their son. “Hey, lad, just because you are mad at your moms, Robin, and I doesn’t mean you get a free pass to ignore people all night. You know what you did wrong and now you have to deal with the consequences but everyone here loves you and deserves respect. Your grandparents especially. So stop moping and go make the rounds of hellos then you can come back to a booth and read but not until then.” 

 

Henry placed his book hard on the table before getting up and moving away from the booth and Hook. Killian kept his eyes trained on Henry as he made his way back to Emma,  in order to make sure that the lad stuck by what Killian said. Once he finished with his greetings, Hook saw him move back to the booth. “Is Henry moping?” Regina asked looking over at their son. Robin had his hand placed on the small of her back as he stood next to her near Emma and Killian. “That appears to be what is happening, mi’lady.” Robin tells her before he and Hook move away from their fiances to get something to drink. As the men place their order Emma spots Eric and Ariel coming through the front door of the diner but they do not have Melody with them. Henry had, also, looked up when the bell above the door rang. When he saw Prince Eric and Princess Ariel, Regina could see his face light up until he did not see Melody with them and it dropped back into him moping. “Ariel, Eric it’s nice to see you,” Regina says as they make their way over to them. “We wanted to thank you for texting us about what happened tonight,” Ariel says as Eric decides to join Robin and Killian for a drink. “How did Eric take it?” Regina asked when she saw that he had taken a seat and was not moving back to them. 

 

“Well considering she’s not here and she is now sitting home alone on New Year’s Eve with no phone and no television; that would have to be a not well. Thankfully she didn’t lie to us but I still can’t believe she would do that.” Ariel says shaking her head. “What is wrong with Henry?” The three women hear Snow ask from next to them after they had all been quiet for a bit. “He’s grounded, Mom and Melody isn’t here so it’s just making it worse for him. He thinks he can get away with what he did and the four of us didn’t let him so he’s just going to have to get over it.” Emma tells her mother wishing that the drink in her hand was actually rum, but having to settle on hot chocolate for the evening. Feeling the phone in her jacket buzz she could not figure out why since her’s was in her back pocket and the one in her jacket was Henry’s. Pulling the phone from her pockets she sees that it’s Melody texting Henry. Putting in the code she see’s the text. 

 

_ Melody:  _ **_Henry! Plz come over… My rent’s r at the bash & I have a feeling u r there. Plz leave & come hang out. I’m bored… xoxo_ **

 

Emma is fuming when she feels a hand come to rest on her lower back and a kiss being placed to her temple. “Love, what’s wrong. I saw you tense up from the bar?” Killian asks looking between her and Regina hoping she knows. Emma holds her phone out for her fiance and her son’s other mother to see before sharing the news with Ariel and Eric, who had joined them when Hook did. “How did she find the phone. I thought you hid it.” Ariel said to Eric while he grabbed his coat to leave Granny’s. “I think it might be best if Robin and I just take Henry home.” Regina says getting ready to call Robin over. “Don’t do that,” Ariel tells her. We are going to go have a talk with our daughter and get this straightened out. “I’m so sorry for her having caused this trouble. I feel like she was behind being snuck into the house too. While visiting my dad I found out that she had been getting into a lot of trouble under the sea.” Ariel lowers her head in disappointment; she can’t believe her daughter is acting like this. 

 

_ Melody:  _ **_Henry, y aren’t u answering me?_ **

 

Emma decided to just shut the phone off and put it back in her pocket. Henry did not need to know that Melody was texting him and her parent’s were going to tell her about his punishment so that she knew he would not be talking to her except for at school once they were back. Once the Christensen’s left the rest of them got back to enjoying the party until they noticed it was snowing inside the diner and not just outside. “Elsa!!” Emma yelled not even turning to face the front door. She could not believe her friend was here. She had been wanting them to visit, but with no way to communicate through the realms it has been hard. If Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff showing up did not surprise them enough what did surprise them was that Anna was pregnant. “Oh Elsa, I’m so glad you are here. There is so much to tell you,” Emma says to her as she gives her a hug. “Clearly there is more than just a little bit going on since you are pregnant and if I’m not mistaken Regina looks pregnant too.” Elsa said pulling back from her best friend before accepting a hug from Snow and Killian. Emma chuckles before saying, “Yes, Regina and I are both pregnant. She is 27 weeks with a little girl and I’m 19 weeks with identical twin girls. Plus, we are both engaged. Oh, Elsa it’s so good to see you!” 

 

The crew at Granny’s had pushed tables together and were all sitting down to have dinner before Neal and Roland were going to be put down in one of the guest rooms with a baby monitor so that their parents could hear them if they woke up. Henry was still moping about since he was grounded, but Emma and Regina knew that they were not going to back down from his punishment and that their fiance’s would let them. While they were eating everyone was catching Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff up on everything they had missed since they left Storybrooke. 

 

Once dinner was over the table were moved to the side and they were left to mingle and watched the tv that was put up for one night only. “Come on little star, it’s time to go to bed,” Regina told her youngest son pulling him away from the coloring pages he was doing. “But Mama, I want to stay up! I’m not tired,” he says trying to suppress a yawn, “I’m a big boy!” he continues his pleading. Regina and Robin both let out a chuckle, “Little man, it’s very late. You need to get to bed so we can have fun tomorrow. Okay?” Robin tells him as he picks him up for a hug before putting him in Regina’s arms. Since they were putting the boys in a downstairs room he was not worried about Regina having to carry him. In the last week or so, her growing baby bump had made it much harder for her to carry the five year old upstairs to put him to bed at home. Roland was very attached to both of them, but as he had spent a large part of his young life without a mother he had become quite attached to Regina as she had been able to fill that mother role for him. “Come on sweet boy, your dad and I will both put you to bed.” Regina told Roland as she headed down the back hallway with Robin following closely behind.

 

After getting Roland to sleep, Robin and Regina headed out of the room with Regina leading the way back towards the party. Robin had other plans, he gently grabbed Regina’s hips to pull her towards him and spin her around to face him. “Robin, what are you…” Regina began to ask, but Robin stopped her by placing an intense kiss to her lips. Regina was caught a bit off guard by the unexpected kiss, but she quickly started to kiss him back. Robin backed her towards the wall, deepening the kiss even more as they moved. They made out for a few minutes like a couple of lovesick teenagers, until Snow popped her head out of the room where she had just gotten Neal to sleep. The two pulled away from each other a bit, immediately missing the contact with one another. “Don’t mind me, I’m just heading back to the party.” Snow said, walking past them at a rather rapid pace. Regina rolled her eyes at her step daughter, before turning her attention back to Robin. “Not that I didn’t enjoy all of that, but what brought it on?” Regina questioned him. “I just thought with everything going on with Henry, you could use something to relieve a bit of stress. Since a drink is out of the question, I figured I could provide the necessary stress relief.” Robin replied with a smirk. “Thank you and yes your little plan definitely worked. In case you were wondering. I just didn’t expect these type of issues with Henry just yet.” Regina replied. Robin gave her one last kiss before taking her hand and leading her back to the party

.

It took about 20 minutes, but both the boys were down for bed and everyone was having a good time. Emma and Elsa had not left each other’s sides, catching up on everything in Storybrooke and Arendelle. They were so glad to be back in the same realm and spend time together. Killian kept sneaking glances at Emma but she always seems to sense him looking at her and would always look back at him before winking, letting him know that she is paying attention to what he is doing. He continued talking to Robin, Kristoff, and David about fatherhood, but other than them all having kids they do not understand how nervous he is about having two infants at the same time. As it got closer to midnight Killian felt two arms wrap around him but all he felt behind him was the bump that was housing his girls. Turning in Emma’s embrace he placed a kiss to her lips before pulling her to his side as the countdown started. Everyone who had someone seemed to have already paired off but nobody was really paying attention to who was with who. When the countdown struck midnight Killian pulled Emma into a passionate kiss as Robin and Charming did the same thing with their loves. After pulling away from Killian, Emma saw what was happening, not two feet from them. Elsa was locked in a passionate, romantic kiss with Little John. “Elsa,” Emma exclaimed causing Elsa and John to pull apart, “Why didn’t you tell me Little John was the reason you came back!” Elsa just smirked, cuddling more into Little John’s arms when they heard Snow exclaim “Red!” It seemed that Ruby even had someone to kiss at midnight as Snow caught her sneaking kisses from August. “How long has this been going on, Ruby?” Emma asked as Killian kissed her temple. “Only about a month,” Red says never moving from August’s arms. 

 

Nobody could believe all the secrets that were coming out tonight. As it got closer to one they all decided it was time to head out. Robin went to grab Roland as Regina and Emma discussed who Henry would be going with. “Regina, I think he should stay with you. I’ll hold onto his phone though,” Emma tells Regina before she could say anything. “If that is what you want to do Ms. Swan. I won’t turn down spending extra time with our son, but I know that it’s supposed to be your week with him.” Regina tells her looking over at Henry, who probably didn’t realize all of the things that had happened tonight. He had not taken his nose out of his book all night. “Really it’s fine. We will just make it so that our weeks will be changed. You will just have to take my weeks and I’ll take your weeks.” Emma tells her while trying to find Killian so they could go home. “Sounds good to me, now we just need to break the news to him.” Regina says as Robin hands her jacket to her while holding Roland in his arms. “No need to tell me anything. I heard you.” Robin tells Regina as he sees her open her mouth to explain what had just been discussed. He gives her a gentle kiss on the cheek as she offers him a tired smile. Robin continues towards the car with Roland as Regina and Emma approach Henry. He scowls at his moms before pulling his coat on and heading out the door. “I’m sorry,” Emma tells Regina as she goes to follow Robin and her boys. Killian put his arm around Emma’s waist leading her out the door to go home after they said their good-byes to everyone who had not already left yet and Emma set up a lunch date with Elsa. 

 

The next few days went by and the kids were back at school Monday while all their parent’s were back at work. Emma still had Henry’s phone with her everywhere that she went so that he didn’t have a chance to try and find it. Killian and Emma had spent a quiet weekend at home cuddling in bed and on the couch with no interruptions except their little girls’ movement that only Emma could feel at this point but Killian could not help but kiss her stomach every time she told him they were moving. “Emma, are you ready for lunch,” Elsa asked as she came in through the doors at the sheriff station. “Sure, lets go.” She says as she pulls on her coat and kisses Killian on the cheek, “Bye, babe. See you later. I’m off the rest of the day so if you don’t mind picking up dinner on your way home? I don’t feel much up to cooking.” Killian stood up giving her a quick peck before saying, “Sure, love. Chinese?” Emma nods her head as she and Elsa walk toward the door. 

 

_ Emma: _ **_Hey, babe, can you pick up extra dinner? Elsa and Little John will be joining us. xo_ **

 

_ Killian:  _ **_Of course, love. How was the rest of your day? xoxo_ **

 

_ Emma: _ **_It was good. Girls have been pretty still today and not kicking quite as hard. Ready for a quiet night with you though. xo_ **

 

_ Killian:  _ **_Sounds good to me. See you in about 20 minutes. xoxo_ **

 

Elsa caught a glimpse of Emma’s text over her shoulder when she moved away saying, “Awww, you two are so cute. I’m so happy for you Emma.” Emma could not help but smile and continue getting things organized as before she and Elsa took a seat in the living room. As they were talking about Elsa’s and Little John’s relationship when they saw their respective significant others come through the door laughing about something. “Hey love,” Killian said, “want plates or are we eating out of cartons tonight?” he asks her as he sets down the food. Emma stands to grab forks and drinks for the guys as she tells Killian they will eat out of cartons. They had a good night of conversation with friends. They found out that Elsa came back to Storybrooke because she did not want to be queen and wanted to live her own life. Anna and Kristoff were going to take over running the kingdom. This would allow Elsa to stay here in Storybrooke with Little John.

 

Over the course of the week Elsa decided to take over the ice cream shop that her aunt used to run since nobody had decided to keep it open after they defeated Ingrid. Emma was excited because this meant no more store bought ice cream and Elsa would be sticking around. She had, also, found an apartment; Anna and Kristoff would be staying with her until the baby was born and then they would move back to the Arendelle. Elsa was happy she was staying and was glad that they would be able to travel between the realms in order to not miss important events. Emma was, now, 20 weeks into her pregnancy and she was starting to feel it. Carrying twins had put a strain on her body but she continued to relax when she got off work and tried to do what was best for her girls. She had started researching ideas for their nursery but could not really decide on a theme. Everything she liked went too much in conjunction with fairytales. Thankfully, she and Hook would have a bit longer to decide but what they needed to do first was get the guest bedroom set moved to storage. Since Little John and Elsa had been spending so much time at the apartment with Emma and Killian, he got John to help him take everything apart and David brought his truck over so they would take it to storage.

 

Henry continued to bug his moms about giving him his phone back. Robin and KIllian kept having to get in the middle of arguments between him and his moms because he just kept pestering them. Killian did not understand how a teenager could be so dependent on something so trivial and Robin was regretting the day they had more than one teenager in the house. Robin pushed his luck in reminding Killian that he would have two teenage girls at the exact same time, more than likely going through the exact same thing. Robin and Hook were discussing Henry while they were out to lunch with Kristoff and this caused him to start freaking out over not knowing how to raise a child, a prince or princess, especially. They had discussed it with him at the New Year’s Eve bash but had decided it would be easier to just sit down and have a man to man chat about fatherhood. Robin at least had gone through it and was willing to talk with Kristoff about how he needed to be a father. Kristoff was more worried because he didn’t have parents growing up, he was raised by rock trolls. At this point, Killian reminded him that neither him or Emma, really had parents growing up either. It was a learning process for all of them and they would get through it. They reminded Kristoff that while he was going to be raising a prince or princess, he was going to be a king. Everyone in Arendelle knew what was going on and could not have been happier to welcome Anna and Kristoff as their new king and queen. They were long awaiting the arrival of their new royal baby. They also reminded him that he and Anna would have a lot of help due to all the excitement surrounding the birth of the baby. They continued to talk and finally got all of their feeling of impending fatherhood out of the way. Robin and Killian knew that would be having more of these talks in the future especially since they will be raising girls who will be the exact same age. 

  
Killian went home after lunch and decided to cook dinner for his fiancee. Emma got home from her shift and was thrilled that dinner was almost ready and she did not have to do anything. After a stressful day of dealing with Will Scarlett and her and Regina having to deal with Henry, she just wanted to relax with Killian. “Good evening, love,” Killian says giving her a kiss before taking her jacket and hanging it up, “I drew you a bath so go relax and I’ll come get you when dinner’s ready.” Emma pulled him to her by the lapels of his shirt and gave him a passionate kiss. “What was that for, Swan?” She placed another kiss to his lips before saying, “Because I needed this tonight and without telling you, it’s happening. So thank you.” Emma heads to their bathroom as Hook heads back to the kitchen. Once dinner is ready he goes and gets her. After dinner they moved to the master bedroom and talked instead of cuddling on the couch. Between talking they stole kisses until Killian got her to stop talking with a particularly passionate kiss. “What was that for?” she asked pulling him back to her not giving him a chance to answer. He pulled Emma to lay on top of him saying i just wanted to thank you for giving me a chance and loving me. His hand and hook had worked their way under his shirt that she was wearing and was rubbing her back as he pulled her down to give her a kiss and his hand had moved from her back to her hair while his hook continued to rip through the shirt. They continued with their activities and made love well into the night before curling into each other for sleep. Waking up the next morning Emma felt more relaxed than she had in the past few weeks. She could not help but love that just a night with her pirate could relax her the way it did and made her love him even more.  


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

 

Regina had just gotten home from work and was enjoying a little time to herself as she was home alone. Robin was leaving straight from work at the sheriff’s station and picking Roland up from school to take him to the park. Regina was originally planning on meeting up with them, but after a full day at work she was exhausted and texted Robin to see if he would mind her just going home and resting. 

Regina:  **_So I am completely exhausted. Would you mind if I just headed home after work?_ **

Robin:  **_Of course not, go home and get some rest. I’ll see you when Roland and I get home. Do you want me to pick up dinner on the way home?_ **

Regina:  **_No, I put something in the crock pot before I left this morning so dinner is taken care of. I wish I had the energy to go to the park with you guys. I miss you both already and I just saw you guys this morning._ **

Robin:  **_Don’t worry about it, relax around the house and we’ll be home before you know it. Miss you too. I love you._ **

Regina:  **_Okay, see you when you get home. Have fun with Roland! I love you too._ **

Henry was not home either, he was stopping by Emma’s to spend some time with her. Now that Regina was 30 weeks pregnant, she is well into her third trimester and with it comes that constant feeling of being tired and her ankles were beginning to swell. She still tried to wear her usual heels and nice dresses or pant suits to work and out in public, but as soon as she was home for the night, she would kick off her shoes and change into yoga pants and one of Robin’s t-shirts. Once she changed into what had become her typical at home attire, she headed to the kitchen to stir dinner and to start a kettle of water for tea. She planned to use the quiet time before the boys came home from the park to relax and read yet another book she had bought on what to expect during and immediately after labor.

She had gotten Henry when he was only a few weeks old so, she knew how to care for the baby once it was here, but she had never been through labor herself. The reality hit her when Dr. Whale had asked her at one of her recent appointments, if she had thought about her birth plan. Since then she had been doing all the research she could and even asked the opinion of Snow, which she immediately regretted. So far she and Robin had decided that they definitely wanted to have the baby in the hospital, now they just had to decide if Regina wanted to try to have the baby naturally or get an epidural. Robin had left that decision up to her since it was Regina who actually had to give birth and to be honest, he was not entirely sure what an epidural was. She was not completely sure what she wanted to do, but she was doing all the research she could to try to make up her mind. Regina had just finished making a cup of tea when she heard the doorbell ring. She slowly made her way toward the front door, in the last week or so her growing baby belly made it a bit more difficult for her to get around.

When she opened the door she found a young girl with auburn hair and green eyes who she had gotten to know much better in the last several weeks. “Melody, Henry’s not here right now.” Regina told her. “I know, he told me he was heading over to his other mom’s for a bit after school. I actually wanted to talk to you without Henry knowing about it.” Melody told her, a hint of panic in her voice. Regina could see the panic also written on the young girl’s face and sensed that she needed help. “Come on in.” Regina told her moving aside. “I was just making some tea, would you like some?” Regina asked. “No thank you, I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I just need your help with something.” Melody responded. Regina led Melody into the living room, directing her to have a seat next to her on the couch.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Melody decided to explain why she was here. “So, I know me coming here is kind of out of the blue. Before we came here to Storybrooke, Ursula’s sister Morgana tracked me down and threatened me. She told me that my parents had done her wrong and what better way to get her revenge than to hurt their child. I never found out exactly what my parents did to her and rarely saw her after that. Actually, I never even told my parents about any of this. Anyway, a few days ago when Henry and I were walking home from school I got the feeling someone was following me. When we stopped at Granny’s to get a snack and work on some homework together I felt like someone was watching me. I looked around a bit to see if there was anything out of the ordinary and that’s when I caught a glimpse of her. Morgana somehow must have followed us to Storybrooke. That’s the only time I’ve seen her, but I definitely know it was her. I wasn’t sure what to do, but Henry has told me a couple of times about how you have powers and years of experience with magic. Morgana has magic herself which I would imagine is how she managed to follow me. Look I know I caused some trouble lately, but I was hoping you would know what to do and could help me.” Melody finished her story and was very clearly shaken.

Regina’s maternal instinct kicked in and she placed a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder. She was using this time comforting her to try to sort out how to help her. “Have you told Henry about any of this?” Regina asked. “No, I didn’t want him to worry. Plus, I was scared that him knowing would put him in danger. If nothing else we both know he would put himself in danger trying to protect me.” Melody told Regina. “Is there anything more you can tell me about Morgana?” Regina questioned. “Not really, I never had that much interaction with her. After she threatened me, I would only catch a glimpse of her from a distance but we never actually spoke. Soon after we came to Storybrooke.” Melody replied to the question. “Okay well, I have had some interactions with her sister Ursula so I know a bit about how vicious the family can be. I can do some research into Morgana herself and try to come up with a plan. I promise I will do everything I can to keep you safe. At some point though we are going to have to tell your parents. They deserve to know their child is in danger. I would be furious with Henry if someone was after him and he didn’t tell me.” Regina explained to the young girl, equal parts of her trying to reassure her that everything would be okay and encourage her to tell her parents what was going on. “Okay.” Melody said lowering her head as she began to tear up. The relief of finally having someone else who knew and could help her was overwhelming. Regina pulled the young girl into a hug. “It’s all going to be okay. We’re going to figure this out. I will do everything in my power to make sure that Morgana doesn’t lay a hand on you. I am going to have to tell a few other people though in the process.” Regina told the young girl as she rubbed her back trying to calm her down. After Melody calmed down, Regina gave her instructions to not confront Morgana and to let her know if she sees her around anymore.

They switched their conversations to lighter topics and soon Henry was walking in the door. He was surprised to see Melody there, they had not planned on hanging out today. Melody and Henry had both recently been ungrounded by their respective parents and appeared to have learned their lessons. While Henry had walked in on what appeared to be a normal conversation he could tell that Melody appeared upset and if he was honest a bit scared. “Melody, what are you doing here?” he asked, making his presence known to the two of them. “Oh Henry, I forgot you told me that you were going to your other mom’s and I stopped over to see if you could help me with some homework that I was stuck on. Your mom invited me in to wait for you and has been keeping me company.” Melody replied. Regina was not sure she liked that Melody was so quick to lie to her son especially after the recent events that had occurred during the holidays, but she also understood that if her son knew he would put himself in harm’s way to protect her. “Why don’t you guys go into the kitchen and work on that homework while I finish up dinner. Melody, would you like to join us?” Regina asked. “That would be great, thank you. I’m just going to go call my mom to make sure it’s okay.” Melody replied before heading off into the foyer to call her mom.

“Mom is everything okay with Melody? She seems upset.” Henry questioned his mother. “Everything is fine, we were just chatting while we waited for you.” Regina explained, trying her best to not give her son any reason to suspect that anything else was going on. Melody needed to tell him when she was ready. Henry gave her a suspicious look. “I promise, there is nothing wrong. Now go get to work on that homework.” Regina told him before nudging him towards the kitchen.

When Robin and Roland returned home, the whole group sat down for dinner. They shared pleasant conversation and enjoyed getting to know Melody even better. After dinner Melody offered to help clean up, but Regina and Robin insisted that she was a guest and they would take care of it. Melody soon realized it was getting late and her parents would be picking her up any minute. “Thank you for everything. Dinner was great.” she told Regina and Robin, giving Regina a look to let her know how grateful she was for her help. She grabbed her backpack and Henry led her to the front door. “Are you sure everything is okay?” Henry questioned her again. “Yes it is. Stop worrying.” Melody replied before giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then heading out the front door. Her parents were pulling up the driveway just then to pick her up.

Once the boys were in bed, Robin met Regina in their bedroom. She was already curled up in bed reading a book. “What was going on with Henry tonight? He was watching you and Melody like a hawk.” Robin questioned Regina. “He’s worried about Melody. Look, you have to promise not to tell Henry.” Regina replied. Robin nodded his head and sat down on the bed next to her. “Melody came over to talk to me. Someone is after her and she asked for my help. She doesn’t want to tell Henry because she knows he will put himself in danger trying to protect her. I am actually very grateful to her that she is trying to protect Henry despite how scared she is. She is, also, keeping it from her parents, which I do have an issue with. I wouldn’t want any of our kids keeping a secret like that from us. I think she’s just scared though. Morgana, the woman who is after her, said it was because Melody’s parents wronged her in some way. I think Melody is just worried that by telling her parents it will put them in danger. I encouraged her to tell them about it. If she doesn’t, I don’t know how long I can keep it a secret from them. As a parent I would want someone to tell me if my child was in trouble. For now though, I promised I would help her and do everything I can to keep her safe.” Regina told him the abbreviated version of the story.

Robin could sense how worried she was about all of this and wrapped her in his arms. While Henry was not directly in danger, the fact that he and Melody were spending so much time together it was possible he could be hurt just by being with Melody at the wrong time. Not to mention that if something did happen to Melody, Henry would be crushed. Also, Regina would feel guilty for not helping the young girl. All of these thoughts were running through Robin’s mind and he could only imagine what was running through Regina’s head since she’s known about this for a few hours. Robin rubbed circles on her back as she rested her head on his chest. Regina knew she was not going to solve this problem tonight and being able to just relax in Robin’s arms gave her a feeling a safety and hope that everything would be okay. He did that to her. Just simply being held by him was sometimes all she needed to calm herself and keep moving forward, even in difficult situations. He turned her head up to face his, “We’ll figure this out. We will keep Melody safe. You don’t have to do this alone. You never have to do anything alone.” Robin hoped by now she knew all this, but figured it did not hurt to remind her. She leaned back for a moment just to scoot herself up slightly in bed and be at the same eye level as Robin, before crashing her lips onto his. “Thank you.” She said as she pulled back from the kiss and leaned her forehead against Robin’s. “You’re welcome.” Robin replied before taking her lips into another kiss.

He knew how tired she was so, after a brief make out session he pulled away before things went too far. Regina appreciated this because as much as she wanted to make love to him, her whole body was screaming for sleep. She curled up next to him, allowing him to wrap her up in his arms again. Robin kissed her on the forehead before pulling her tighter to him. Well as tight as he could with her ever growing baby bump between them. “Goodnight, my love.” Robin whispered into her hair. “Goodnight” Regina replied already half asleep.

The next morning Regina and Robin both woke up early. She decided to use this time to make up for what she was too tired to do last night. They resumed their make out session from last night and this time Regina planned for it to go where they both wanted it to go last night. “Are you sure you’re not too tired?” Robin asked, half actual concern she was too tired and the other half giving her a hard time about last night. Regina playfully slapped his arm before kissing him with everything she had. She figured that answered his question.

After making love, they decided while they still had a bit of peace and quiet before the boys woke up, it was time to finally choose a baby name. “I’d say it’s down to Adaline and Genevieve.” Regina said. “Agreed, the question now is which one?” Robin replied. “How about Genevieve Hope?” Regina asked. “I love it!” Robin replied, pulling Regina closer to him to give her a gentle kiss on the lips. When he withdrew from his kiss with her, he made his way down to her stomach. “What do you think? Is that your name? Genevieve Hope Locksley.” he peppered kisses all over her baby bump as he talked to his little girl, feeling a little foot kick at one of his hands which he had placed on either side of her bump. “I think she likes it.” Regina told him as she ran her fingers through his hair and could not help the smile that came across her face. “It’s settled then, Genevieve Hope.” Robin said as he made his way back up to give Regina another kiss.

“Now, how about I go make breakfast so that you have enough time to get ready?” Robin proposed his plan to her. He moved to get out of bed, but was stopped by Regina wrapping her arms around him. “Can we just stay here in bed a little bit longer? I’m not quite ready to start the day yet.” Regina told him, giving him the best puppy dog eyes she could muster to convince him. “Of course we can.” Robin replied. He climbed back into bed and allowed her to curl up close to him, his arms encircling her in a comforting embrace. “I love you so much. You are beyond amazing you know that right?” Regina says in appreciation of the understanding he had shown her in the last 24 hours, actually the understanding he had shown her ever since they got together. “Not as amazing as the woman I have wrapped in my arms at the moment. And I love you more” Robin replied, placing his forehead to hers. “Not possible.” Regina told him. She leaned into him for a kiss to prevent him from arguing back and apparently it worked. After a few heated kisses, Regina pulled away and brought her head to rest on his shoulder. Robin placed a kiss in her hair, taking in her scent as he did so. In this moment, they both felt completely at peace. They knew they had a long day ahead of them between work, and starting to sort out the Melody problems, along with Henry likely continuing to be suspicious of what is going on and constantly pestering Regina with question; but in this moment they were able to push the rest of the world away and just hold each other.

               A few days had passed and it was now the day of Regina’s baby shower. Everything around town had been peaceful with no sign of Morgana. Snow and Tink had been planning the shower for weeks and decided to make it co-ed. Since the town was so small and they wanted to throw Regina a huge baby shower, it seemed to be the only logical way to pull this off. They decided Granny’s would be a bit too small for the shower they were planning. Instead they choose to use an event room that was in the town hall. They rarely used it, but figured now would be a good occasion. It turns out that it all worked out for the best to go along with Robin’s surprise for Regina. Robin had met with Snow to fill her in on his plans and ask for her help with a certain part of the plan. She had immediately agreed to help him and also promised to keep the secret. Regina was stressing about what to wear, but eventually settled on a red maternity dress that really accentuated her baby bump.

               When she and Robin arrived they were overwhelmed by all the people that turned out for the shower. While many people in town had congratulated them on the pregnancy, Regina had worried that her past wrongs would stop people from coming. Thankfully she was wrong. This was just another showing that almost all of the town had forgiven Regina for her previous wrongs. Snow met her and Robin at the door and led them to a table at the front of the room where they would sit with Snow, Charming, Tink, Emma, and Hook. Everyone slowly made their way by to once again congratulate the couple and drop off gifts at the table Tink had set up.

               Regina had decided with the help of Snow to use the cake at her baby shower as the way to reveal the gender of their child to everyone. To this point the only people who knew what they were having was the two of them as well as Roland and Henry. “Everyone, Regina and Robin decided to reveal the gender of their baby to you. The idea came up to do it with the color of the cake. So, when they cut into the cake it will be either pink or blue to reveal what they are having.” Snow announced to everyone. Regina took hold of the cake knife and Robin placed his hand gently over hers. They cut a piece of the cake out and then turned the cake for everyone to see. “It’s a girl!” Tink and Snow squealed in unison when the cake was revealed to be pink on the inside. The whole room erupted in clapping and cheers for who would be a future princess to their people.

Once everyone had eaten their cake, Regina began to open presents with the help of Robin. She was amazed and honored by everyone’s generosity. When all the gifts were open, Regina stood from her chair to make an announcement. By the time all the gifts had been open, they had received almost everything they needed for the new baby. “Thank you everyone for all of the gifts. We are truly overwhelmed by your generosity. Especially since I am not entirely sure I deserve it.” Regina said. Robin stood up beside her and took her hand. “Before everyone leaves, there is one more thing. It’s actually a surprise for Regina. As most of you know, the two of us have been engaged for some time now. We have been trying to decide when to get married and as we have been discussing it for quite a while and have not been able to come to much of a conclusion other than we both want to spend the rest of our lives together. So, I figured there is no time like the present. I was hoping all of you would do us the honor of staying for a while longer to witness the two of us exchange vows and become man and wife.” Robin announced to the crowd. At this point Regina had let go of his hand and appeared completely terrified. “Robin, I just… I don’t think I can do this.” Regina told him without looking him in the eye before moving as quickly as she could to leave the room.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

She was freaking out, this was too much, this was all too much. Regina was someone who always liked to be in control, especially in front of the prying eyes in this town. This was something she had no control over. She had been caught completely off guard, somehow Robin had planned all of this without her knowing. She was panicking. She knew she loved him, she knew she wanted to marry him, it was not even a question of it. It was just the suddenness of it all, the not knowing about it till it was happening that had her head spinning and left her absolutely terrified. Her mind was racing, she needed some place quiet to think about all this and figure out what to do next. Thankfully, being at the town hall allowed her the perfect place to run to and hide, one of the few places she felt safe.

Robin, Snow, and Emma all went after her. It did not take long to figure out exactly where she had disappeared to. When they reached the door to her office, Robin opened it and the three of them entered the room to find her sitting on the couch. “Ladies, can you give us a minute.” Robin asked the two women who had come with him to find Regina. Snow began to protest, but Emma just took her by the arm and led her out of the room before closing the door behind them. Robin could tell she was crying and felt horrible that he was the one who had made her feel this way. The more he thought about it, he realized how overwhelming this probably was to her. He slowly approached her, sitting down onto the couch leaving an arm’s length between the two of them.

“Regina, just talk to me. That’s all I ask. I realize now how overwhelming this all is and that I probably should have talked to you about it before now.” Robin told her. She took a deep breath before turning towards him, but still not making eye contact. “I’m not mad. I’m just scared and nervous. You caught me completely off guard. I don’t even have a dress.” Regina told him. Robin thought it was safe at this point to move a bit closer to her. He scooted towards her before placing his hand under her chin to tilt her face up to look at him. “That’s not entirely true. I may have mentioned all of this to Snow. She agreed to pick out a dress so that I would not see the dress before the wedding day. It’s hidden away somewhere in the office.” Robin told her, bringing his hands to rest on her thighs. “This is crazy. I just don’t know if I can do this.” Regina replied. Robin pulled away from her, a bit worried by what she just said. “Are you trying to say you don’t want to marry me?” Robin blurted out the question, regretting it as soon as it came out of his mouth. “No, Robin, I want to marry you. There was never a doubt in my mind about that. I love you, I just was not mentally prepared for this today and it is just messing with my head a bit.” Regina said, trying to reassure him. “I can understand that. I love you too. So what do you want to do?” Robin asked. She took a moment to think about all of it before answering his question. Talking to Robin about it all had allowed her sometime to calm down and sort through her feelings about all of this. After a moment, she knew exactly what she wanted to do and a small smile came to grace her face. “Let’s do it. I love you and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you” Regina replied. Now that she finally wrapped her mind around it, she realized that she did not care when or how it happened she just wanted to commit to be with Robin for the rest of her life. “Are you sure?’ Robin asked. “Positive. Now if you wouldn’t mind going and grabbing Snow, Emma, and Tink to help me get ready.” Regina answered. In this moment Robin could not help himself and he captured her lips in a kiss. She pulled back after a few seconds. “Now go so I can get ready. Otherwise everyone is going to be waiting here all day.” Regina said giving him a gentle nudge in the chest with one of her hands. Robin still had hold of her other hand, holding onto it as long as he could before turning to leave the room.

A moment later Snow, Emma, and Tink entered Regina’s office. “So where is this dress?” Regina asked Snow. “It’s right over here.” Snow replied as she walked over to the corner of Regina’s office where there was a dress bag hanging. Regina had not previously noticed it when she entered her office due to how overwhelmed she was feeling. To be honest, she was a bit worried about what this dress would look like. She and Snow had very different taste in clothing. Thankfully though, she could use her magic to make some adjustments if need be. However, when Snow opened the dress bag to reveal the wedding dress she chose for her, it took Regina’s breath away. The dress was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for her. It was an empire waist dress made from chiffon fabric with a sweetheart neckline. The straps had beading over a lace applique that wrapped around to fasten between her shoulder blades leaving an open back. The skirt of the dress would accentuate her baby bump perfectly and was the perfect cross between fitted and flowing. Even the belt that would go across the top of her baby bump matched the straps perfectly with the same beading over a lace applique. “Snow, it’s perfect! Thank you.” Regina told her stepdaughter.

“So what do you want to do for your hair and makeup?” Emma asked. “I figured we could take advantage of my magic and I could run through a few ideas with you guys.” Regina replied. After a couple of tries, they all found a look they fell in love with. Her hair was done with a few curls on both sides to frame her face while the rest of her hair had soft curls that were pinned to the back of her head in an elegant up-do. Her makeup included a smoky eye look with various tones of brown and gold to bring out the color of her eyes and her usual red lipstick to complete the look. “Regina, you look absolutely beautiful.” Tink told her. “I agree, I think you are ready to walk down the aisle your majesty.” Emma told her with a smirk. Regina could not help but smile. Now that all of this was actually happening, she was beyond excited. By the end of the day today, she would be married to her true love. “Well, I think you are now officially ready to get married so we are going to go find seats. I think a very special young man would like to speak with you before he walks you down the aisle.” Snow told Regina. “Oh and one last question, Robin wants to know if you would like to come up with your own vows or use the more traditional ones?” Snow just remembered to ask. “I think I can come up with my own. Thank you Snow.” Regina replied. Regina had done the traditional vows when she married Leopold. It was her mother’s way of making sure she did not say anything wrong that could stop the marriage. She wanted her marriage to Robin to be completely different and writing her own vows to truly express her love for Robin would be a good way to start. The three women made their way out of the room just as Henry made his way in.

“Mom! You look beautiful! I’m so happy for you.” Henry said as soon as he saw his mother. He was dressed in a black and white suit and tie. “Thank you sweetheart.” Regina replied as she pulled him into a tight hug. “So where did you get the suit and tie from?” Regina questioned her son. “Robin picked me and Roland up from school the one day to go get them for all of us.” Henry answered. After taking a moment for Regina to adjust his tie a bit Henry asked, “Well what do you think? Are you ready to do this?” as he held out his arm for her to take. “Definitely. Lead the way, my little prince.”

While Regina was getting ready, Robin had enlisted the Merry Men to help rearrange the setup of the room, getting the tables out of the way and setting up the chairs in rows. Everyone had found their seats again just in time. Robin took his place at the front of the room with Roland standing next to him on his left. The two of them turned their heads as the doors opened to reveal Regina and Henry with their arms linked, ready to walk down the aisle. As soon as he saw her, Robin felt his heart skip a few beats. She was breathtaking and stunning in every way. His plan may not have gone off without a hitch, but it was all worth it now to see the most beautiful woman he had ever seen walking down the aisle to become his wife. When Regina and Henry reached Robin, Henry gave his mother a brief kiss on the cheek before allowing her to take Robin’s arm and taking his place to the right of where his mother would soon be standing. Robin led her the last few steps before they turned to face each other and he took her hands in his.

Robin had asked Friar Tuck to officiate the wedding, which he gladly accepted. “Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to witness the joining of these two souls in holy matrimony. If anyone should object, please speak now or forever hold your peace.” Friar Tuck waited a moment and when complete silence followed he continued with the ceremony. A short time later they had reached the vows portion of the ceremony. “Robin and Regina have chosen to write their own vows which they will now say in front of all of you starting with Robin.”

“Regina, since I met you my whole world has completely changed for the better. We may have gotten off to a bit of a rocky start in the Enchanted Forest, but even then I felt this incredible connection with you. You amaze me every day, your strength to keep going despite impossible odds, your determination to be a better person, and most importantly your unwavering love for myself and our children. You made me feel whole again, something I never thought I would find. I can’t imagine my life without you now. I love you more than I could ever put into words, but I am excited to spend the rest of my life trying to show you just how much I love you. I promise to never leave your side and to tackle any obstacle or villain that gets in our way. It will be my honor to love, care for, and protect you and our children until the day I die.” Robin said all of this while gently rubbing circles on the back of Regina’s hand and staring into her enchanting and tear filled brown eyes.

“Now Regina will say her vows.” Friar Tuck announced to everyone to cue Regina that it was her turn.

“Robin, for many years my life was filled with darkness, anger, hatred, and fear. I got in the way of my own happiness and made more mistakes than I can count. You played a huge role in pulling me out of that darkness and supporting me to become the person I am today. That means more to me than you will ever know. You are the second chance at love I always hoped for, but never thought would come. I love the life we have made together with our children and want nothing more than to keep building our life together forever. I could not ask for a better best friend, husband, father to my children, or partner for the rest of my life. You are my soulmate and the love of my life. I love you so much and fall more and more in love with you with each passing day. I promise to spend the rest of my life with you through all the ups and downs that will come and to never stop loving you through all of them.” Regina said letting the tears of pure joy stream down her cheeks as she spoke.

“Regina and Robin in their own words have now expressed their love for each other and committed to be together for the rest of their life. It is now time for them to exchange the rings, which will be an outward symbol of their love and commitment to each other. Robin repeat after me.” Friar Tuck spoke after Regina finished her vows. Regina gave Robin a worried look thinking that they did not have rings. Again Robin surprised her as Roland and Henry both presented them with their rings for each other. Robin took his from Roland while Henry held onto his for a few moments more.

“With this ring, I thee wed.” Friar Tuck said to Robin. Robin had been holding Regina’s hands throughout the whole ceremony. “With this ring, I thee wed.” Robin repeated after Friar Tuck as he slid the wedding band onto Regina’s left ring finger. It was a simple white gold band with diamonds all the way around the band. “Now, Regina repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed.” Friar Tuck cued Regina as she took the ring for Robin from Henry. “With this ring, I thee wed.” Regina said as she slid a solid white gold ring about twice as wide as hers onto Robin’s finger.

“Now my friends, there is only one thing left to do. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.” Friar Tuck announced to everyone. Robin and Regina were both grinning from ear to ear as Robin placed one hand on her hip and the other on her cheek pulling her to him and kissing her with all the passion he could. Regina placed her hands on his hips, melting into his kiss. The kiss lasted several seconds before they withdrew and gave each other two more quick pecks on the lips before turning to face everyone who just witnessed their wedding, linked arm in arm.

“I now present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Robin Locksley.” Friar Tuck announced, presenting the newly married couple to all their guests.

Robin led Regina back down the aisle heading out the doors. Once they reached the hallway, Robin immediately pulled her into another loving kiss. “I love you so much, my beautiful wife.” Robin said as he withdrew from the kiss. “I love you too. I can’t believe I finally get to call you my husband.” Regina replied, pulling Robin into as tight of a hug as her baby bump would allow. “What do you say we go in and thank everyone personally and then get out of here?” Regina asked. “I think that is a brilliant idea.” Robin replied with a smirk.

They made their way around to all the guests thanking them for their gifts for the baby as well as for staying to witness their wedding. After about an hour the only people still there were Regina, Robin, Henry, Roland, Emma, Hook, Snow, Charming, Tink, and a few of the Merry Men. “Snow and Tink thank you so much for the baby shower. Also thank you Snow, Emma, and Tink for helping me get ready. And a special thank you to Snow for picking out the perfect dress.” Regina said to the group. “Yes and thank you to the Merry Men who helped out with everything. Especially Friar Tuck. We’re so grateful to all of you for your help.” Robin told them all. “Well I guess we should tell you about your wedding gift. Henry and Roland will be spending the night at either, mine and Killian’s place or at my parents for the next 3 nights. That way you guys can at least have a bit of a honeymoon.” Emma told the newlyweds. “Are you sure about this?” Regina asked. All those involved nodded their heads immediately. “Well thank you, four. Now if you guys don’t mind I will be taking my bride home now.” Robin told the group.

Regina and Robin said goodbye to the boys and thanked them for helping in the wedding. When they made it out to the car they found heart’s drawn all over the windows with ‘Just Married’ written in the rear window with window paint. The two let out a small chuckle before Robin opened the driver’s side door for his wife, giving her a quick kiss before she got in the car. They spent the whole ride back to the mansion with Robin’s hand resting on Regina’s thigh.

When they reached the mansion, Robin made her wait in the car for a moment in order for him to come around and open the door for her. Always a gentleman, Robin would always open doors for her and her wanted to let her know that even though they were married now, that was not going to change. He took her by the hand and led her to the front door. Regina used her key to open the front door, but when she tried to walk into the house she felt an arm around her waist that gently pulled her back to him. “I need to carry my new wife across the threshold.” Robin whispered in her ear. “Really? Your new wife is also a bit bigger than she usually is.” Regina reminded him, placing her hands on her ever growing bump. “You doubt my abilities.” Robin replied as he swept her up into his arms. He carried her over the threshold into their home with ease, gently setting her down on the foyer floor. “See, no problem at all.” Robin said with a smirk. “Come here.” Regina replied with a seductive undertone in her voice. He immediately closed the small space that was between them, taking her lips into a kiss and pulling their bodies as close together as physically possible. Robin had one hand on her lower back and the other one tangled in her hair, pulling her deeper into the kiss. Regina wrapped her hands around his waist before causing them to disappear in a puff of smoke, never releasing each other from their kiss.

In the blink of an eye, they reappeared in their bedroom and immediately their hands began to wander, exploring every part of each other’s bodies. Regina pushed the suit jacket off Robin’s shoulders and then got to work on untying his tie as Robin got to work on unbuttoning his shirt. When Robin was completely shirtless, Regina rested her hands on his chest, tilting her head to the side as he kissed and nipped at her shoulder. He got to work on the zipper of her wedding dress. It took him quite a bit longer than he would have liked, but eventually he got the back of the dress undone and effortlessly lifted Regina out of it, leaving the dress in a pool on the floor. The rest of the night passed by in a blur. They spent the night making love like they never had before, their love and passion for each other on full display. They collapsed from exhaustion in a mess of tangled limbs just before sunrise, falling asleep immediately.

They spent the next few days, enjoying spending time just the two of them. The two could not keep their hands off of each other. They were constantly hugging, kissing, and making love. Most of their days and nights were spent in bed together, completely wrapped up in each other. They were enjoying their time in the newlywed bubble where the world fell away and they could focus on just the two of them. Each morning they would call their boys to tell them good morning. Then again at night to tell them good night just before they would go to bed and would spend a bit of time to talk to each of them about their days. The little time they did spend out of bed they were still together. Neither one of them wanted to take for granted this time they had been given to spend just the two of them. While they both loved their children more than life itself, it would often limit the amount of time they had to spend just the two of them. In a few short months, they would be adding a third child to that mix which would only add to their crazy wonderful life.

After three days lost in their own little world, they were supposed to pick up the boys from Emma and Hook’s in about an hour. “I love you. I miss our sons terribly, but I don’t want to leave our little bubble.” Robin told her as he gently caressed her cheek. “Me either, but it’s time for us to go back to reality. At least now I get to go back to reality as your wife. If I haven’t said it yet, thank you for planning the wedding. I know I resisted at first, but it was all perfect... God, I love you.” Regina replied. He kissed her forehead, her nose, and then found her lips. “Do you think you can fit in a quick shower with your loving husband before we go pick up the kids?” Robin asked as their lips parted. “I think that can definitely be arranged.” Regina replied with a smile on her face. She got out of bed, pulling him with her and leading him to the master bathroom.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Emma and Killian had Henry and Roland with them for the next few days after the wedding but when Regina and Robin came to pick them up they could not have been happier. They love their son more than anything, but they were ready for a quiet house after having him with them for a week and a half. Having Roland was even harder since he’s still young and had his moments of missing his Mama and Papa. Even Henry could not get him to calm down. She knew that when the welcomed their two little girls into the world it was just going to get worse. Planning out babysitters would be easy since her parents would be more than willing to take the girls but them swapping date nights with Robin and Regina would be hard since their will be three little girls, a 5 year old boy, and their 15 year old. That’s a lot of kids and the four of them are going to be sleep deprived when the girls all get here that Emma fears none of them are going to want date nights. 

Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff had been back in Storybrooke for a month at this point and Anna was getting closer and closer to her due date. The closer it got the more nervous Elsa and Kristoff seemed to get, while Anna seemed to keep her cheerful outlook on life itself. Even though, Emma was only 24 weeks along, her stomach was getting in the way of doing so many things. She was starting to have a love/hate relationship with her stomach. She wanted to be able to cuddle close to her fiance, but because of the belly she could never get close enough. Hugging Henry was just as bad, though he had gotten taller he could no longer get his arms around her to give her a hug. He and Killian both loved talking to the twins though. Since, Henry still did not know their names he would make up cute little names for them; his favorite was little pirate girls. Killian on the other hand cherished the moments of just him and Emma lying in bed together because he could scoot down the bed to be level with her belly. He would place kisses to it and talk to his girls, switching back and forth between their names and calling them his little princesses. Hook has always said Emma had a little bit of pirate in her, he knew that she would forever be a princess with her parents being Snow White and Prince Charming. The people of Storybrooke could not believe that they would be getting three new princesses and that the new royal baby of Arendelle would also be arriving in their town. Everyone was excited to find out what Princess Anna and Kristoff were having. 

Emma got off earlier than Killian because he and her father both did not want her working past a certain time so she was always bored when she got home to an empty house. 

Emma: Babe, when will you be home? 

Killian: Love, I don’t know. Robin had to leave to get Roland and your dad told your mom he would get Neal so I’m at the station by myself.

Emma: Then let me come back! I don’t want to be home alone. Henry is going to be at the Christensen’s until after dinner. 

Killian: Swan, you are NOT coming back to the station. Go take a nice warm bath, read a book, relax and I’ll bring Granny’s home for dinner!  
Emma: Fine, pirate! Don’t think this gets you out of giving me a massage later though! xoxo

Killian: As long as it gets you naked, I’m all for giving you a massage ;) XOXO

Emma: Killian Jones! You did not just send that in a text! 

Killian: Of course I did, love! You forgot your xoxo’s! XOXO

Emma: Oh I didn’t forget them. You didn’t deserve them after that text. But now you better hurry home and maybe I’ll let you join me in the bath. ;) 

Killian: Headed that way now! Love you! <3 

Emma: Love you too! XOXO

Killian finished up the paperwork he had to get done at the station before locking up and going home to his fiancee. He was glad that Henry was going to be having dinner with Melody and her family. He stopped by Granny’s to get him and Emma both grilled cheese; her with onion rings, him with fries, even though he knew she would steal some of his fries. When he walked into the house he could smell the lavender of Emma’s bath oils coming from their bathroom. He put the food on the counter and followed the scent. Emma had soft music filling the air and had not heard Hook come home. Since she did not know he was there Killian stood leaning against the doorframe just staring at his love rubbing her pregnant belly and talking to their little girls. 

After Killian had joined Emma in the tub he helped her out wrapping her robe around her before leading her out to the kitchen for dinner. Once it was heated up and he had made her some hot chocolate he went into their bathroom and grabbed her hairbrush. When he came back out he grabbed his food sitting it next to hers but he did not move to sit down. He pulled her hair behind the chair and started brushing it for her as she ate. Emma grabbed his hand and pulled him around to sit next to her so that they could each eat. They talked about their day, Henry and the girls while they finished eating before they moved to the couch to wait on Henry since it would not be long before he got home from Melody’s.

As they were getting ready to start watching The Big Bang Theory when Henry walked in the door with his head down. Emma had never seen her son look this down, even when she was the Dark One he always seemed to be full of hope and understanding, but looking over at Killian she realized he had seen Henry like this and it was more than likely after the two would visit her together. She could not have felt worse not knowing what she should do to make her son feel better so she just asks, “Hey kid, are you okay?” Henry puts his bookbag down and hangs his coat before looking up at his mom and dad, “No, I think Melody is keeping something from me but I don’t know what it could possibly be. Mom, I think I’ve fallen in love with her and I don’t want to get my heartbroken.” Emma looked over at Hook hoping he knew what to say but he seemed like he was at a loss for words just like Emma was. “Lad, why do you feel like she is keeping from you?,” Killian asked finally having found his voice and the words he wanted to say. “I don’t know Dad. She just doesn’t talk as much and it’s like she wants to say something, but then realizes that she shouldn’t. I want her to know she can tell me anything and I’ve told her that but it hasn’t changed anything,” Henry tells him as he grabs a snack from the kitchen before squeezing between the two of them on the couch. 

“Sure, kid, you can sit between us,” Emma says as she tries to move over a bit so her son has room. “Thanks, Mom,” Henry answers with a smirk, “Hey baby girls, hope you’ve both been good for Mommy today. You know Princess Anna is getting ready to have her baby soon. I think it’s a boy, but don’t tell anyone that. They are all set on Anna having a girl so that there will be four of you close in age, but I think Kristoff wouldn’t know how to handle a girl first so I think they need a boy.” Emma and Hook stared at their son in awe as he talked to his sisters like they were sitting with them in the living room. They loved how much he loved his sisters already and could not wait to see what he would be like with them once they were here. “Henry, just keep being there for her. She will tell you what she’s hiding when she’s ready too,” his mother tells him as she steals a chip from the bowl he had brought over. “The hard thing is that a couple weeks back, I went over to Mom’s after I was hanging out here with you and Melody was there talking to mom. They were talking about normal stuff when I walked in, but I got the sense that she told mom what is going on so, they are both keeping something from me.” Henry told them. “Well then Henry I think that means you need to confront your mom and ask her about it. We can’t help you because we don’t know what is going on,” Emma tells him, “Want to watch Big Bang with us?” she asks him. Henry decided to sit with them for one episode before he went to his room to read and his parents retreated to their room. 

As Killian and Emma got ready for bed Emma grabbed her phone to shoot off a quick text to Regina. 

Emma: Hey Regina, hope it’s not too late but needed you to hear this from me. Henry came home in a very down mood after spending the evening with Melody. He knows the two of you are keeping something from him. I’ve never seen him look sadder than he did tonight. I told him he needed to talk to you but I don’t know when he is going to.

Regina: Okay. I wish I could tell him, but it could put him in more danger knowing what is going on with her. Can we meet tomorrow for lunch so I can fill you in? 

Emma: I’d rather not know till Henry knows. Only because I think you, Melody, and I’m guessing Robin are already keeping it from him and he doesn’t need that from anyone else. 

Regina: I understand. We are going to need to discuss it at some point to figure out when or if we should tell him. I am planning to set up a meeting to talk to Ariel and Eric about what is going on, since I get the sense Melody still has not told them, which I have an issue with. I was hoping you and zHook would be present as well since we are all going to have to work together on this.

Emma: That is fine just let us know when and where. Do you think we will need to get anyone else involved besides us? 

Regina: No, I think the six of us parents can handle it Miss Swan. 

Emma curled up to Killian after he was laying in bed with her once he had finished up his nightly routine. He pulled her close tilting her chin up in order to reach her lips with his giving her a kiss that left them both breathless. They continued to make out but just as things were getting ready to go farther Emma’s phone started ringing. Killian tried to convince her not to answer but she did not listen, “Hey Elsa, what’s going on?” Pausing to hear what was said on the other end she rolled out of Hook’s arms and off the bed slowly as she went to get clothes out of her dresser. “Okay, I’ll be over there soon,” Emma hangs up the phone, “Anna is in labor. I’m heading over to the hospital.” Emma starts getting dressed as Killian gets out of their bed. “I’m coming with you, love.” Emma walked out of the room to tell Henry what was going on as Hook finished getting dressed. 

As they showed up at the hospital, Elsa was pacing the waiting room as Little John kept trying to get her to sit down. When Emma walked into the room John saw Elsa visibly relax and finally sit down next to John, relaxing in his arms as Emma sits next to her grabbing her hand with one hand and Killian’s hand with the other. She could not believe that in a few short months they would be here again but welcoming their own little ones into the world. They were there for about 3 hours before Whale came out and told Elsa she could go back. Little John stood as Elsa did and when she did not let go of his hand he went with her to see her sister and brother-in-law along with her new niece or nephew. Elsa was so excited to see what her sister had. After she got to the room Anna was the only one in there. “Kristoff is with the baby, they will be back in a bit, but is Emma here?” Anna asks her sister before closing her eyes. Without answering her sister, she sent Little John to go get Emma and Killian. When they came back in Anna was sitting up with Elsa in the bed and she could not stop smiling. As Emma and Hook congratulated her, Kristoff walked in behind them with the baby in his arms. Since the baby had a neutral colored hat on, none of them knew what the baby was yet. “Everyone,” Anna started, “I would like you to meet Prince Finley David Bjorgman.” Emma could not help but smile knowing that they gave him the middle name David, after her father. After congratulating the family again and getting in a quick snuggle with Finley, Emma and Hook headed home for some much needed sleep.

Curled up in bed together Emma laid her head on Killian shoulder, kissed his chin and fell into a deep sleep before Killian even realized it. “I love you, Swan,” he whispered kissing her on the head before letting sleep pull him under too. Waking up the next morning Killian wanted nothing more than to wake Emma up with kisses and hopes that it would go farther, but he also knew she needed her sleep. He gave her a kiss, pulled out from under her, and decided to make her breakfast. When he was coming out of their room, Henry was also coming out of his and decided to help Kilian make his mom breakfast. “So Dad, are you going to tell me if Arendelle has a new prince or princess?” Henry asked as he cracked some eggs into a bowl before adding cheese, and ham to make scrambled eggs while Killian made the pancakes. “Princess Anna had a healthy baby boy, Prince Finley David. He and the princess are doing well.” Killian told him as he flipped the pancakes. “Do you have a picture?” Henry was scrambling the eggs as Hook handed him his phone that had a picture of Emma staring down at Finley. “Mom, looks happy. If she’s that happy holding an honorary nephew, think of how she will look holding the girls.” Henry says handing the phone back to his dad. “Are my boys making me breakfast?” She asked and without a missing a beat, Killian slid a hot chocolate in front of her before giving her a quick kiss, “Thank you.” Emma told him.

After finishing breakfast, Emma and Killian got ready for work, and Henry got ready to spend the day at Melody’s working on a class project. They all spent their day separately before meeting up with the rest of the family for dinner at Granny’s. It was family dinner night, but the kids had a teacher work day which is why Henry spent the day at Melody’s. At family dinner, Elsa and Little John showed up and gave them all an update on Anna and the baby. David was thrilled to hear that he was named after him and he could not wait to meet Finley. Dinner started to wind down and they were all ready to get a game underway so they all headed back to the Locksley mansion. When they got there Roland and Neal were asleep so they were laid down in Roland’s bedroom while the rest of them moved to the dining room to play a game. The men all got drinks while Henry set up the game and his moms and grandma chatted. The game of Apples to Apples took longer than any of them thought it would because they would bust out laughing, but they had fun and that is all that matter. Henry still had not confronted Regina about what she and Melody were keeping from him but Emma knew he would when he was ready. When the clock got closer to midnight Emma and Killian decided it was time to head out as the Charmings did the same thing after David grabbed Neal from Roland’s room. Good nights were exchanged and Emma placed a kiss on her baby brother’s cheek before grabbing Hook’s hand and headed out to her yellow Volkswagen Beetle. 

The next few days were spent lounging around the house for Emma and Killian. They had started closing the sheriff station on the weekends since they all wanted to be able to spend time with their children. If it was an emergency, the phones at the station were set to forward calls to the person on call for that weekend. When Emma and Hook got up Saturday morning they planned on not getting out of bed for awhile. They laid in bed talking about all the things they needed to get done before the girls came while stealing kisses. After it had been quiet for awhile, Killian moved down on the bed and Emma did not know what he was planning to do. Lifting Emma’s shirt to just below her breasts he started placing kisses on her stomach and talking to the girls. Hook stayed like that for a half hour, just placing sweet kisses to her as he spoke. When he finally moved up to lay facing Emma, he realized she had tears rolling down her cheeks. “Love, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked wiping the tears from her face. Without answering Emma pulled him into a long, slow kiss. “Everything is amazing,” she tells him after she pulls aways. Her stomach grumbled as Killian was getting ready to kiss her again, “How about we get you some food, Swan?”

Heading to the kitchen, Killian cooked them both up some brunch. After eating they moved to the couch and laid cuddled up catching up on the shows that were on the DVR. As the first show was ending, Killian realized Emma had fallen asleep with her head on his lap. The rest of the weekend went by in almost the exact same way. The only difference was that on Sunday they went over to Elsa’s in order to spend some time with Anna, Kristoff, and Finley before it was time for them to head back to Arendelle. They spend almost two hours over at Elsa’s before Emma started getting tired and wanted a nap, so they headed home. While in the car it was quiet and Killian’s hand lie resting on Emma’s thigh. “Swan…” Killian started trying to get her attention, “Do you want more kids after the twins are born?” Emma had just pulled up to a stop sign when she turned to give Hook a strange look, “What brought that question up?” As she pulled away from the stop sign he did not know what to say, “I don’t know, love. Seeing you with Finley makes me excited to see how you are with our girls but it also makes me want to go through this again and again because I love seeing a baby in your arms.” He finished his statement really fast as they pulled up the their apartment. Without saying another word Killian got out of the car as fast as possible. “Hook…” Emma started as she moved toward him, “Slow down! Can we please talk about this more inside,” she asked when she saw some of the dwarfs headed their way. 

Once inside Killian headed straight toward their bedroom instead of staying to talk to Emma. Since he clearly was not going to talk anymore she gave him a couple of minutes to clear his head before moving to follow into their room, but when she got there he was nowhere to be found. Turning around and heading down the hall she found him standing in their daughters’ nursery with a pout on his face. “Babe, I get you want more kids. And I will be happy to have as many as we decide and can afford but can we please get through my pregnancy and delivery of these two before we discuss this? I would even like for us to be married before we have another too. I know we haven’t talked much about the wedding but I do want it to happen before we start trying for baby number 4.” Emma had moved to wrap her arms around his waist her head resting between his shoulder blades. Turning in his fiancee’s arms he kissed her forehead, cheek, and neck before moving back up to her lips. Kissing Emma was something he could not help but feel thrilled he got to do this for the rest of his life. “I think we can put it on hold, love,” he kisses her again before continuing, “I can’t wait to marry you though. I know you want to wait till the girls are here but I don’t want to wait much longer after that. I want to be able to call you ‘my wife’ as soon as you are comfortable with moving forward with wedding plans.” Their heart to heart got them both thinking and even though so much was cleared up for them, they also knew that it opened about even more for them to discuss in future conversations. They spent more time together and continued working on getting the nursery put together. Even though they could talk they spent much of their time in comfortable silence.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Before everyone got together for family dinner and game night the group met at the docks to see off Kristoff and Anna. They were sailing home with baby Finley today. Arendelle needed their rulers back and they wanted their people to meet the new royal. Elsa would be staying behind in Storybrooke to be with Little John, allowing Anna and Kristoff to take over ruling their kingdom. Before coming to Storybrooke the girls had figured out how to communicate between realms and had discovered a limited number of magic beans they could use to travel between realms to allow them to visit each other occasionally. Elsa and Anna were refusing to let go of each other, despite Little John and Kristoff trying to convince their respective partners. The two sisters had been through so much together and it was hard for them to say goodbye. They both knew it was for the best and that they had ways of communicating even though they would be in different realms, but they would still miss each other terribly. Eventually the two reluctantly released each other from their hug and started to say goodbye to everyone else.

When Anna got to Emma, it once again became a long goodbye. The two had become closer during the visit and were going to miss each other. Kristoff shook both Robin and Hook’s hands knowing they would soon be in the same boat he was and giving them a reassuring albeit rather tired smile. “You guys will do great.” he told them both. “You will too mate.” Hook replied as Robin nodded his head. After one more long hug between Elsa and Anna, Kristoff who had his sleeping son in his arms hooked his arm around Anna’s and lead her to board the boat. The group stayed at the dock waving to Anna and Kristoff until they disappeared into the sunset. Elsa and Little John headed off for a date night they had been planning and the rest of the group headed off to Granny’s for family dinner.

The next day, Henry finally had summoned the courage to talk to his mom about Melody. “Hey mom, can I talk to you?” Henry asked when he entered the living room. Regina was resting on the couch and watching a random movie she had found on television. “Sure sweetheart. Come have a seat.” Regina replied. He made his way over to his mother and had a seat next to her.

“Look mom, I know something is wrong with Melody and I know you have an at least some idea as to what is going on. Please mom just tell me. I hate not knowing that something is wrong. All I want to do is help her.” Henry was pleading with her. Regina’s heart was breaking, she wanted to tell him, but it was not her place and much like Melody she was concerned that telling him would put him in danger. “Henry if you are that worried about her, you really need to talk to her about it. Melody is the only one who can give you the answers you are looking for.” Regina replied. “Mom! Stop lying to me! I know that Melody talked to you about what was going on with her! You have to tell me!” Henry was shouting at her. He was frustrated with two of the most important women in his life continuing to lie to him. “Henry, please calm down. You need to talk to Melody about this. Not me.” Regina replied, trying to keep her voice calm. It apparently did not help Henry calm down. “You have to tell me what is going on! Melody keeps telling me that nothing is going on and I know she is lying! I know you both are lying!” Henry continued to shout at her when suddenly he noticed the change in her face.

Regina grabbed her stomach, sharply inhaling. Henry could tell she was in pain and immediately switched from the anger he had for her a moment ago to being scared that something was wrong. “Mom what is it? Are you okay?” he asked in a shaky voice. “Oww.” Regina said as another pain gripped her abdomen. “Sweetheart, I think you should call Robin for me and tell him to meet us at the hospital.” Regina said in between the pain she was feeling. Regina grabbed her phone to call Dr. Whale. He answered on the fourth ring. “Dr. Whale, it’s Regina Mills. I’ve just had two sharp pains in my stomach within the last five minutes and my whole stomach just feels extremely tight.” Regina explained. After answering a few more of his questions, Dr. Whale agreed with Regina’s initial thought that she should come into the hospital to get checked out.

After hanging up her phone, Regina pushed herself up from the couch and headed to the foyer to grab her keys. Henry was there having just hung up with Robin. “Mom, what’s going on?” Henry asked still very worried about his mother. “I think I am having contractions. I just need to head to the hospital to get checked out.” Regina replied. It was taking everything in her to stay calm, but she needed to focus and get to the hospital. She knew that if she panicked, not only would it be bad for the baby, but the fear would likely paralyze her. “Then I am coming with you.” Henry told her. “Okay.” was all Regina said. She knew there was no arguing with him and she needed to get to the hospital.

Robin was absolutely terrified after what Henry told him over the phone. He quickly grabbed David to give him a ride to the hospital. Robin, David, and Emma had come into the station for a few hours on Saturday due to some vandalism complaints that had come in early this morning. Hook had stayed home to continue working on setting up the nursery. Emma overheard and immediately decided to head to the hospital with them. The three of them entered the waiting room where they had found Henry nervously pacing, a nurse nearby keeping an eye on him so he did not have to be alone to wait. As soon as Robin knew Henry would be taken care of by Emma and David, he immediately made the nurse take him to his wife.

The moment Regina arrived at the hospital, they whisked her away to the maternity ward. She changed into a gown and they immediately started hooking her up to monitors. Just as they finished hooking her up to the monitors, Robin arrived. When he saw her sitting up in a hospital bed, hooked up to monitors he breathed a sigh of relief knowing that whatever was going on was not immediately life threatening to either Regina or their daughter. Regina was awake, talking to a nurse and he could hear the typical steady rhythm of his daughter’s heart beat on the monitor. Despite being reassured by what he saw and heard when he walked into the room he rushed to her side. “Regina what happened? Henry called me and just said something was wrong with you and to meet you guys here.” Robin said, his voice shaking as he took her hand. The nurse left the room to give them a moment together. “I had a few of what felt like contractions fairly close together. Dr. Whale thought it would be a good idea for me to come in and get checked out… Robin I’m scared.” Regina said barely above a whisper. She was finally able to admit this out loud. She had been keeping it together to get her and her unborn baby to the hospital, but now that Robin was here she began to feel the fear she had been keeping at bay. Regina was squeezing Robin’s hand as tight as she could. Robin could see the look of absolute terror on her face and he immediately placed a hand on her cheek and a loving kiss to her temple. “I know, it’s all going to be okay. I am here and we will make sure that you and the baby are both okay.” Robin tried to reassure her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her towards him as she buried her face in his chest. They stayed like this in silence for several minutes until they heard a knock at the door.

Dr. Whale appeared in the doorway with the nurse who had left the room minutes earlier right behind him. “Okay Regina, from what we are seeing on the monitor you are having a few contractions, but that may not necessarily mean that you are in labor. I’m going to need you to layback so I can check you.” he told the nervous couple. Regina hesitantly laid back in the bed, taking hold of Robin’s hand as she moved. Dr. Whale checked Regina and immediately gave them a reassuring smile. “It is as I suspected. Regina you are not dilated or effaced at all yet. The contractions you are having are likely Braxton Hicks. We’ll keep you here for a little while to make sure the contractions calm down and don’t get closer together. As long as the contractions don’t get stronger or more frequent, we’ll release you in a few hours. When you get home, it would be best if you rested for the next few days, just to be safe. It’s not at all unusual for women at this stage of pregnancy to have contractions here and there. If you have more than 5 in an hour then call me and we’ll probably have you come back in, otherwise I’ll see you at your next appointment. Don’t worry too much though, even if the baby were to be born today. Most babies born at this point in the pregnancy do just fine, they just have to spend some extra time in the hospital.” he told them both. Regina gave Robin’s hand a strong squeeze as Robin let out a deep breath. “I’ll check back in on you in a little bit.” Dr. Whale told them before leaving the room with the nurse.

Robin turned to Regina to give her a gentle and comforting kiss on the lips. When he pulled away from her, he put their foreheads together and placed a hand on her cheek, gently rubbing her cheek with his thumb. “It’s okay. You and the baby are fine.” Robin whispered to her. A single tear escaped Regina. “I know, I’m still worried though. Can you go get Henry and bring him back now? I think I really scared him. I want to reassure him everything is okay.” Regina whispered back to him. “Of course. I will be back in a minute.” Robin replied, before giving her a kiss on the forehead and heading out of the room.

When Robin found Henry in the waiting room, Emma had convinced him to sit down and was talking to him. “How is she?” Henry said as soon as he saw Robin. “She and the baby are perfectly fine. She is having a few contractions, but that is pretty normal for this stage of pregnancy and there is no sign that she is an actual labor.” Robin told Henry. Despite what Robin had just said, Henry looked incredibly worried. “Was this my fault?” Henry asked. “Of course not. How could it be your fault Henry?” Emma asked. “I was yelling at her because I think her and Melody are keeping things from me. Did I upset her and cause her to have contractions?” Henry asked, trying his hardest not to cry. “Henry, this was not your fault. While you should not have been yelling at your mother. This is something that just happened and your mom and sister are completely fine. Come with me to see her, she was asking for you.” Robin told him. Henry was hesitant, but he followed Robin after a few moments. Robin waited for Henry to catch up to him, before putting a reassuring arm around his shoulder.

Robin and Henry entered the room and Henry could not even look Regina in the eye. “Henry what’s wrong?” Regina asked as Robin made his way over to her. “It’s my fault you are here. I upset you and that’s why you had contractions.” Henry said despite what Robin had told him in the waiting room, he still thought this was his fault. “Henry, sweetheart, come here please.” Regina said, motioning for him to come sit next to her on the bed. Henry made his way over to her, still not making eye contact with her and taking a seat next to her on the bed. Regina placed a hand underneath his chin, tilting his face towards her. “Sweetheart, none of this is your fault. You were upset with me and while we will talk about you yelling at me later, don’t think for a moment that you caused this to happen. I am okay and so is your little sister. I love you, my little prince.” Regina told him before placing a kiss on his forehead. Henry finally relaxed and allowed Regina to pull him to her for a much needed hug. “I love you too mom.” Henry said holding tightly onto his mom.

A few hours later, the three of them were heading home in Regina’s car. Emma and Charming had headed back the sheriff’s station to finish up a few things. Snow had brought Roland home from a play date with one of his classmates and was in the kitchen making dinner with Neal taking a nap in the pack-and-play she had next to the counter. Roland was sitting at the kitchen table working on some homework he had over the weekend. When Regina, Robin, and Henry entered the mansion, Regina immediately went towards the kitchen to help Snow. She was stopped in her tracks by Robin and Henry. “I don’t think so my love. You heard Whale, you should be resting. Why don’t you go relax on the couch and I will go get you a glass of water?” Robin told her as he turned her in the direction of the living room, giving her a gentle nudge to head in that direction. “Come on mom. I’ll keep you company.” Henry added, leading her into the living room.

When Robin entered the kitchen, he gave Snow a grateful pat on the shoulder as he went to grab a glass for Regina’s water. Charming had texted Snow updates to let her know that Regina was okay. “So how long do you think this whole resting for a few day thing will actually last?” Snow asked Robin. “I give it till the end of the night tops. My plan is to just keep reminding her that it is what is best for the baby, which will make her be more compliant with resting as much as possible.” Robin replied. He knew his wife and she was not one to just lay around and do nothing. She had been a single mom with a full time job as mayor for years, there was not much time for rest and relaxation. Even now with Robin’s help, Regina still was constantly busy with their children, work, and regularly protecting the town from whatever villain was causing trouble. He was brought out of his thoughts by Snow. “Well, I think dinner should be ready for you guys. I’ll leave you alone to have some family time. Call me if you need anything.” she told him. “Thank you Snow.” Robin responded as Snow was grabbing the newly awake Neal from the pack-and-play. Snow said her goodbyes to Regina, Henry, and Roland on her way out.

Robin grabbed four plates out of the cabinet before placing some food on each of them and getting out silverware and napkins. He took Regina her plate of dinner and water before heading back to the kitchen to grab his food as well as Henry and Roland’s. They spent a relaxing evening in the living room eating dinner and watching television. It was Saturday so they let the boys stay up a bit later than usual. They all headed up to bed around 11, exhausted from the day.

The next few days were definitely trying to everyone’s patience. Regina was less than pleased with being lazy and laying around the house. She was extremely cranky and constantly trying to do housework or sneak away to her study to catch up on some work. It took all three of them and many an argument to keep her from doing too much. On Monday, the boys headed back to school while Robin took the day off to spend time around the house with Regina. “Come on Robin. It’s been two days and I have had hardly any contractions. You heard Whale, I should rest for a few days. We both have work to do. How about I just go in for a half a day?” Regina tried to convince him. “You are NOT going into work! What if you do work for an hour in your study?” Robin proposed. “It would not even be worth it. I’d barely get anything done. I will work a half day from home.” Regina countered, beginning to become angry. “You work for 3 hours from home and that is my final offer.” Robin offered. “Fine, but then I am going into work tomorrow. And that is my final offer.” Regina snapped back at him. Robin shook his head. She was right, she had almost no contractions the last few days, Robin just did not want her to put too much stress on her body. “Fine. You know you drive me completely crazy from time to time.” Robin told her with a slightly annoyed sigh. “I know and now I have work to do.” Regina replied with a smirk, kissing Robin on the cheek as she headed towards her study.

When the boys got home from school, Robin managed to convince Regina to go back to relaxing on the couch while he made dinner. Roland had gone upstairs to play with toys in his room, while Henry was sitting in the living room with his mom and reading a comic book. “So, Henry we need to talk about the other day.” Regina started off the conversation. Henry set his comic book aside, but sat there staring at his hands. “Okay I guess I will start. Henry, I understand you are frustrated, but that does not excuse you yelling at me. I can’t be the one to tell you about Melody. It is something that she needs to tell you herself when she is ready. I wish I could be more help, I really do, but you need to figure this out between the two of you because it is not my secret to tell.” Regina explained. “I understand. I’m sorry for yelling at you. I’m just really worried about her and she keeps avoiding the subject.” Henry told his mom. “I know sweetie, but she will tell you when she is ready. The best thing you can do for her now is just to be there for her and make her feel safe. Then, when she is ready to tell you, just listen to what she has to say and continue to be there for her. Okay?” Regina advised her son. “Okay mom.” Henry replied before going back to reading his comic book.

After her conversation with Henry, Regina headed to the kitchen to check on dinner. “How is it going in here?” she asked. “Good, we’re almost ready. Is everything good in there?” Robin replied. “I don’t think it is completely okay, but it’s getting there. He’s just worried about Melody and I wish I could tell him, but it’s not my secret to tell.” Regina replied. Robin turned from the stove for a moment to wrap Regina in his arms. “It will all work out in time. The important part is that things between you and Henry are okay. And if no one had told you in a while, you are an amazing mom my love.” Robin whispered in her ear before he placed several kisses to her hair. She hugged him tighter, grateful for the comfort he was providing her. They soon released their hold on each other to ensure that dinner was not burning. A few minutes later they sat down to enjoy a nice family dinner together with the four of them.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32 

 

After Anna was gone Elsa missed her sister terribly but instead of spending time with Little John she was spending all of her time with Emma. Emma did not know what to do. She loved Elsa like a sister but the farther she got in her pregnancy the more she wanted the peace and quiet before her girls came. Elsa would show up at the house or the station to talk to Emma whenever she did not want to be at her house while Little John was with the Merry Men. All Elsa wanted was someone to talk to, but after a week of going to Emma every time she was bored she could tell that her best friend was starting to get annoyed with her showing up randomly. What Elsa didn’t know was that Emma was starting to not feel well and that was only because she was refusing to tell anyone including Killian how she was feeling. 

After not seeing Elsa for a couple of days Emma began to worry about her friend. She felt bad for how she acted every time Elsa came around. She’s in a new land, a new relationship, and still trying to find her place in Storybrooke. Emma realized that too late but was willing to found out what was really going on with her friend because she sensed it was more than just Anna, Kristoff, and Finley going back to Arendelle.

Emma: Hey, Elsa! Hook is having a father/son dinner with Henry, Robin, and Roland would you like to come have dinner with me at the apartment? 

Elsa: These things are confusing. It took me 10 minutes to figure out how to reply to you. I would love to have dinner with you. 

Emma got off work from the station and Killian was waiting on her at home before he headed out to meet the rest of them for dinner. “Hi, love,” Killian said meeting her at the door and helping her out of her coat. “Hey, babe,” Emma answers giving him a kiss. “When do you need to meet with Henry? What all are you doing tonight with them?” Emma kept her arms wrapped around her fiance and didn’t want to let him go. “They will be here soon and then we are headed to get takeout from Granny’s and having a picnic on the Jolly.” Killian placed kisses up and down Emma’s neck not wanting to leave her. “How are my girls today,” Killian moves down so his face is right in front of Emma’s stomach. He had lifted her shirt and was placing kisses to her stomach when he felt his daughters kicking as he talked to them. Emma could not help but smile down at Killian when he was like this with his girls. Pulling her fiance back up to her she placed a passionate kiss to his lips. As Killian did not want to let go of her, he backed her up to the kitchen counter so she was leaning against it and he blocked her in and continued taking the kiss farther. If Henry had not have opened the door with his key and had knocked he would not have seen his dad slowly unbuttoning his mom’s shirt while kissing her. “Oh my gosh! STOP!” Henry shouted when his parents did not hear him, Roland and Robin as they shut the door hard. Emma and Hook pulled apart in a matter of seconds as Emma tried to straighten her shirt as Killian stayed in front of her so nobody saw anything. This whole time Robin was covering Roland’s eyes and laughing. “Nice going mate. You knew what time we would be here to meet you.” Robin said making fun of Hook. “Let’s go lads,” Killian says trying to get them out of his house. “See you later love,” he says before placing an innocent kiss to his fiancee’s lips, “Love you.” Emma stayed standing by the counter as her boys walked out the door mumbling, “love you too,” back to Killian as the door shut. 

Pulling herself away from the counter Emma went and changed into comfy clothes before Elsa got here for dinner. She planned on just ordering in because she did not feel up to cooking since she still was not feeling well. She did not know what was going on, but at her recent appointment everything was going well and since they will not let identical twins go past 37 weeks, they were only nine weeks out from their girls being here. Emma felt completely unprepared for having two new babies in the house. All she had to go off of was the memories Regina gave her when they all had to go back to the Enchanted Forest and her and Henry could not go with them. Since they were not her actual memories she felt like she did not know how she was going to take care of a newborn or in this case two. As she was lounging on the couch watching Dance Moms, her guilty pleasure show she will not admit to watching to anyone, when she heard a knock on the door turning the television off she got up to let Elsa in. “Hey Elsa, how are you?” Emma asked as she invited Elsa in the front door. “I’m fine,” Elsa answered taking off her coat and hanging it on a hook behind her. Emma knew from her response something was wrong she just did not know what yet. “I figured we could just order Chinese if that’s okay with you? I didn’t feel much up to cooking,” Emma tells her as she heads to the kitchen to get them each a mug of hot cocoa. Elsa sighed that was okay and stared down at the mug Emma sat in front of her. “Elsa, what’s wrong?” Emma asked after calling in their order, “Does this have to do with why you were constantly hanging around me last week?” 

Elsa ignored Emma’s questions as she moved to the living room to sit on the couch curling her feet up under herself. Emma knew something was really wrong when she went to go sit near Elsa and there were flurries circling her head and the air in the apartment was getting chilly. “You need to calm down Elsa. We can’t have you freezing my apartment,” Emma says with a laugh trying to lighten the mood. The flurries stopped after 5 minutes of silence but Elsa still did not speak after she calmed herself down. Emma answered the door when the Chinese arrived, but they still sat in silence while they ate. “Elsa if you don’t start talking now you won’t have time to tell me what is wrong because the boys will be back and we will have to try and do this again tomorrow.” Emma said attempting to get an answer out of the woman next to her. Elsa looked over at Emma but still did not say anything. As Emma got up to go refill her hot chocolate she hears Elsa whisper, “I’m scared.” Emma turns back around and sits next to her best friend, “Why are you scared Elsa?” Elsa continued to play with her hands as flurries start circling her hands, “I’m worried about taking my relationship with John to the next level. I don’t know what I’m doing. I spent most of my life hiding in my room because of my powers. Even my sister was able to move on and now has a beautiful baby boy. I struggle even taking kissing him any farther than a small kiss. Emma please help me.” Elsa finally explained.

Emma did not know what to say. She was not expecting Elsa to unleash all of that on her. All she knew was that she wanted to help her. She was worried about how though. She has already had to explain condoms and other things to Killian now she would have to do it with Elsa. She started to second guess if she is the one Elsa should be talking to about this since she’s had two unplanned pregnancies. Going into the master bedroom she grabbed the box of condoms that was unopened and not going to be needed for awhile. “Okay, Elsa, first thing: you need to protect yourself which means him needing to wear one of these. They prevent diseases and can prevent pregnancy but they aren’t 100% preventive so it wouldn’t be a bad thing if you went to Dr. Whale and got put on birth control, unless you and John are ready for a baby.” Elsa’s eyes got big when Emma said that, “Of course not! We need to be married first. We shouldn’t even be doing this not being married yet.” Emma could not help but chuckle looking down at her stomach. “Elsa things are different here. You don’t have to wait for marriage but it’s a choice you need to make. Look at me, two pregnancies and not married, and even Regina got pregnant before they were married.” Elsa sighed and realized Emma was right. “Have you talked to John about how you are feeling?” Elsa looked back down at her hands shaking her head, “I don’t know how to bring it up to him. He has experience in this stuff. Hello, he’s one of the Merry Men. They were known for more than just helping the poor. How did you get over it with Killian?” Emma continued rubbing her stomach when she felt one of her girls kick her hand smiling, “I think it took me awhile to get over it and I still am. I know what his past was like because we have talked about both of our past history, but we both got checked before taking that step because of our pasts. If John truly loves you, he won’t put up any argument getting checked in order to keep you both healthy and safe. You just have to be honest with each other Elsa. Everyone worries they won’t do something right their first time, but if it’s with someone you love it’s so much more than just doing something right or wrong. Being with Killian feels right and is so much better than it ever was with anyone else because of the love we share. You can’t put so much pressure on yourself or you’re going to be too nervous and your body won’t want to cooperate with what you want. Just be patient and let things happen when they happen. But take these with you,” handing her the box of unopened condoms, “Killian and I won’t be needing them for awhile.” Emma told her. 

Elsa stood from her seat putting the box in her purse before hugging Emma. “Thank you for letting me talk to you about this stuff, Emma. I knew I couldn’t talk to Anna but I’m glad I have you as a sister too.” Emma smiles hugging Elsa back, “Of course. Now go relax and don’t stress too much.” Emma replied as a last bit of encouragement. As Elsa was getting ready to walk out the door her boys were walking through it with Robin and Roland. “So how was guys night?” Emma asked hugging Killian before placing a kiss to Henry’s head. “It was so fun Aunt Emma! Papa and Uncle Killy took us on a boat!” Roland could not stop bouncing in his place. “I’m going to get this one home and to bed before it gets too late. Henry, don’t forget to go see your mom tomorrow after school.” Henry nodded his head as he gave Roland a hug, “Will do!” After Robin and Roland left Henry went to take a shower while Emma and Hook decided to sit on the couch and talk. “So why did Elsa walk out of here looking like she had been crying?” Killian asked as he pulled Emma to sit between his legs on the couch so he could place his hand around her on her stomach. “Just girl stuff,” Emma said leaning her head back on his shoulder giving him space to kiss her neck which he did not object to doing. “Okay, you don’t have to tell me.” He chuckled against her neck. “Well since you two seem comfortable I’m going to go to bed,” Henry said interrupting their cuddling and flirting. Emma stood giving Henry a hug, “I love you, kid. Good night.” Henry hugged her back before heading to his room with a ‘good night’ to both of them. Emma and Killian headed to bed right after Henry and the next few days were uneventful which is when Hook decided to plan a date night for him and Emma. 

Killian: Henry, think you can stay at Regina’s tonight? Want to plan a special date night for your mom. 

Henry: Sure can. Have fun! Cook her something good. She’s been craving teriyaki chicken stir-fry, if you didn’t already know. 

Killian: I did know, but thanks for the reminder.

Killian: Love, date night tonight? Henry is staying with Regina and Robin. XOXO

Emma: I would love one, babe. What time? xoxo

Killian: Our kitchen.. 7 o’clock? XOXO

Emma: Can’t wait! xoxo

When Emma got off work she headed straight to her parents to borrow a maternity dress from her mom for her date with Killian. She thought of going home to get one of hers but wanted to let him get everything he planned together before she showed up. “Hey Mom, can I borrow a dress?” Emma asked stepping into the loft. “Hi sweetheart. Of course you can. They are in the closet. Something special going on?” Emma moved to her mom’s closet as she continued to talk to her trying to figure out which dress she wanted telling her mom Killian was planning a date night for them. Picking a long sleeve green dress that hit mid thigh she knew Killian would like it because it brought out the color of her eyes. Thankfully Emma had worn shoes that would work with a dress to work today. After pulling her hair into a ponytail and curling it, she thanked her mom before giving her brother a kiss and headed out the door for home. When she got to the apartment Killian met her at the door with a bouquet of red roses. “Good evening, love,” he says placing a kiss to her lips before taking her coat and bag hanging them on a hook. “You look absolutely beautiful Swan.” Killian said. “You look quite handsome yourself, pirate. What’s the occasion?” Emma asked not moving her arms from around his waist. “Just wanted to do something special for my pregnant fiancee.” He said giving her a kiss before he led her over to her seat at the table. They were having a romantic dinner talking about wedding plans after the girls were born, talking about their kids and just having fun flirting back and forth.

Things were going good until Killian brought up maternity leave, “Emma, I think it’s time you step back from some of your duties at the station.” Emma could not believe what she just heard. She was only 28 weeks along the girls were good and she was in good health. Had she been feeling a bit under the weather as of late, yes, but that did not mean she could not do her job. “Why would you even say that? The girls and I are just fine. You would have seen that for yourself if you were at my last appointment but no you wanted to take care of stuff at the station that Dad or Robin could have handled.” Emma was now furious with her pirate. She did not know what else to say so she got up from the table and went and changed out of her dress into her pajamas. Killian may have gotten what he wanted, sex with his love, if he had not just screwed up their date bring up work and her taking time off already. No, she could not do a lot of things she could before becoming pregnant with the girls, but she also did not have to take time off now. She had put herself on desk duty already and was leaving everything else up to the guys as it was. She is still the sheriff and it would remain that way. Instead of going back out to the kitchen she laid down in bed and tried to calm herself down for the sake of her girls. “I’m sorry sweet girls. Mommy will try to stay calm. I need you guys to be patient with me though. I know Daddy is just trying to help and is worried about you both and Mommy, but I’m not ready to give up my job just yet. I love you both more than anything and I’m ready for you both to be here, but you still have some growing to do. So grow big and strong so you can come join Mommy, Daddy and Henry when you’re ready. I love you.” As she finished she felt two little kicks to her hand and could not help but smile as tears rolled down her face mumbling, “stupid hormones.” 

Killian left Emma be and cleaned up from their date. He knew he messed up bringing it up, but he really did just want what was best for his girls. Once the kitchen was clean he went back to their room to get his clothes when he saw Emma asleep in their bed. Getting changed into his pajamas he placed a kiss to Emma’s hair with a whispered, “I love you,” before placing two quick kisses to her t-shirt covered belly. As he was getting ready to walk away from their bed with his pillow to go sleep on the couch since they no longer had a guest bed because of the nursery, Emma grabbed his hand and stopped him. “Please sleep with me. I know we aren’t great right now but I sleep better with you next to me and I really need sleep.” Hook could not deny her that so he laid down on the bed and Emma curled herself right around him, going back to sleep while he laid there staring at the ceiling.

Waking up the next morning Killian was still asleep under her so Emma extracted herself and after going to the bathroom, choose to make Hook breakfast for the way she reacted last night. She could tell just by looking at him he had not slept much the night before and she felt bad for how she acted. When he came out of the bedroom she had coffee, pancakes, bacon, and eggs waiting for him. “I’m sorry for the way I acted last night,” she says to him taking the seat next to him, “I know you are just trying to help but I don’t want to not be at the station. I’m already on desk duty isn’t that enough for now?” Killian reached over and took her hand in his before placing a passionate kiss to her lips, “Of course it is, but I’m still going to worry until those two little girls are here and you are all home safe.” he replied. Emma could not help but smile before saying, “You do know that I’m going back to work after maternity leave. I’m not going to be a stay-at-home mom. I love my job too much.” Killian nodded his head and placed his hand to her stomach, “Actually I wanted to talk to you about what you thought about me maybe being a stay-at-home dad. I’d like the chance to be a hands on father and spend my days with my little girls.” Emma smiled at this and just pulled him into another passionate kiss whispering okay against his lips. As their kiss started to heat up and hands started to roam under pajamas, Emma’s phone began ringing with her designated ringtone for Regina. “Leave it love, I want this time with you. If it’s important she’s call back,” Killian continues to kiss down her neck to her collarbone. Just as Emma pulls his head back to hers for another kiss it starts ringing again. With a irritated voice Emma answers, “What is it Regina?” Listening to Regina talk Killian continued his exploration with kisses before Emma grabbed his hand forcing him to stop. “Yeah we will meet you there in 10 minutes.” Turning her eyes back to Hooks, “Sorry babe, we need to stop and get dressed Regina needs to talk to all of us about what she and Melody have been keeping from Henry. Let’s go” she told him. Getting dressed in record time they moved to her bug before meeting everyone at the mayoral mansion.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

A few days later, Regina and Robin were preparing for the arrival of Emma and Hook as well as Ariel and Eric to discuss what has been going on with Melody. Regina had been tense all day, she was worried about how this meeting was going to go. Will Ariel and Eric be angry that she had not told them about this sooner? She was hoping that Melody would tell them herself, but she had the feeling the young girl had not told them yet and she could not keep it from them any longer. As parents they have every right to know that their daughter is in danger. She also needed to discuss things with Emma to determine what to do about Henry. She knew Emma did not seem to agree with keeping things secret from Henry, but hopefully once she explained what was going on, Emma would agree that it was the right decision.

Robin was coming down the stairs from checking on the boys. He had wanted to make sure they were preoccupied in hopes that Henry did not overhear any of the conversation that would be happening shortly. Henry and Roland were in Henry’s room playing some video game that Robin did not understand. Henry had come over to spend some time with them since it was his week with Emma and Hook. When he entered the kitchen Regina was placing a kettle on the stove for tea. He made his way over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Are you ready for this?” Robin asked. “No, but I can’t keep putting it off. It’s not fair to Ariel and Eric to not know what is going on with their child.” Regina replied. “We’ll sort it all out.” Robin told her. They stood quietly like this for a few moments until the doorbell rang. “I got it.” Robin said as he kissed her temple.

When he opened the front door Ariel and Eric were standing on the front porch and Robin could see Emma and Hook getting out of Emma’s bug. He invited all four of them in, leading them into the dining room. “Can I get anyone something to drink?” Robin asked. He took everyone’s drink orders and headed towards the kitchen to get everything. A few minutes later he returned with the drinks and Regina walking in next to him. The pair took their seats next to each other with Robin sitting at the head of the table and Regina sitting directly to his right.

“So, what is this all about Regina?” Emma asked. “I wanted to discuss Melody. She came to me recently with a problem. She told me that she was threatened by Ursula’s sister Morgana, but she didn’t know much about why. All she was told by Morgana was that Ariel and Eric had wronged her and she figured the best way to get back at both of you was to go after your daughter. I asked her if she had told either of you and she said no, I encouraged her to tell you about it, but I’m guessing from the looks on your faces that she still hasn’t told you. She said she came to me about it because Henry told her about my extensive knowledge and use of magic. Melody thought I would be able to help her. I agreed and I am doing everything I can to learn more about Morgana and make sure that Melody is safe. I felt you all had a right to know though about what is going on and that it is likely going to take all of us to ensure her safety. Morgana has not been seen since Melody talked to me about all this, but that does not mean that she’s not still lurking about somewhere. Do either of you know why Morgana thinks you wronged her and wants to come after your child?” Regina finished her story by asking Ariel and Eric the question.  
The couple exchanged an overwhelmed and scared look. Regina also noted a hint of guilt creeping into their expression. Emma and Hook both oddly sat silent waiting to hear what Ariel and Eric had to say. Regina figured at least Emma would have some comment on all of this. “We banished her from the kingdom. She had been doing some things with her magic that were endangering our people and the kingdom. She left us no choice, we had to protect our people.” Eric replied.

“Okay, well at least we have the why she is doing this part figured out. Now we have to figure out how we stop her.” Robin said. “Well to start we need to find her.” Emma finally spoke. “Agreed, but I think we should keep this as quiet as possible. If she knows we’re onto her she may feel backed into a corner. If she is as powerful as you say, backing her into a corner could have dangerous consequences.” Regina replied. “I should also probably call my dad. We should all be looking out for her and probably keeping a closer eye on Melody. Especially when she is out in public. Can any of you provide a good description of her or do you think Melody could?” Emma questioned, trying to formulate a plan. “We can do one better, I like to draw. I could create a drawing of her from what we remember to give you a pretty good idea of who you are looking for.” Eric replied, taking his wife’s hand. Ariel had not said anything since Regina had explained what was happening with their daughter. Eric could see the fear and worry in her eyes. Melody was their only child and she was their whole world. The idea of anything happening to her was almost unbearable.

“Don’t worry Ariel. We will keep her safe. I have been doing some research on Morgana since Melody first came to me and while I haven’t found a lot, it is at least a start. Any other information you can provide about her would be extremely helpful such as what type of powers she possesses.” Regina tried comforting Ariel. They were all parents here and understood the need to protect your child from anything that could harm them. “She has all the same powers as her sister. I remember her saying right before she was banished that she and her sister shared the same powers, but that she had better control over them and that she would make us regret what we were doing.” Ariel finally spoke up. “Okay, that definitely helps. We have all had some experience with her sister Ursula. I do some more research and start to come up with options as to how we can stop her. Or at least find something to make her less of a threat until we figure out what to do with her.” Regina explained.

“Thank you Regina for helping our daughter. Thank you all of you. If you don’t mind I think we should head home to our daughter. We need to talk to her about all of this and figure out what we want to do as her parents. Please let us know if you find anything out.” Ariel said. “I will get that drawing done for you and drop it off at the station tomorrow.” Eric stated as he and his wife stood from their chairs. “I’ll show you out.” Robin said standing from his chair. He gave Regina’s forearm a reassuring squeeze as he stood.

“So this is what you and Melody have been keeping from Henry. Regina, I have to ask why?” Emma questioned. Regina took a deep breath. “To start it is not my secret to tell. Melody needs to tell him when she is ready. More importantly, you know our son, if Melody is in danger he will want to protect her. Part of me would rather him not find out as it will hopefully keep him safe.” Regina explained. “I understand that Regina, but that could also possibly have the opposite effect.” Emma replied. Regina gave her a confused look as Robin came back into the room, sitting back down next to her. “Henry knowing and us explaining how dangerous this woman is will make him more vigilant. If he is paying closer attention to his surroundings because he knows something is wrong it is possible he may notice her and be able to get him and Melody out of harm’s way. Of course we would have to explain to him that he is under no circumstances to confront this woman. Just call or text both of us immediately if he sees her.” Emma explained her perspective. “I understand what you are saying. I honestly don’t know what to do, all I want to do is make sure that Henry is safe.” Regina replied. “We all do Regina. You should have told us about this sooner” Hook finally spoke up. He had stayed quiet during the conversation with Ariel and Eric, just trying to be there to support Emma.

“That was not my fault. Emma said she didn’t want to know. She didn’t want to be another person keeping a secret from Henry, but I realized that it was in Henry’s best interest for all of you to know and that’s why I invited you to be here while I explained everything to Melody’s parents.” Regina said with a tone of annoyance in her voice. “Look arguing about this will not get us anywhere. We just need to come to a conclusion between the four of us about what we want to do from here to keep Henry safe.” Robin stated, trying to calm the tense situation. “Robin is right. All that matters is keeping Henry safe. Regina I understand why you did what you did, but I also think it might be a good idea to tell him what is going on.” Emma said, giving Hook a reassuring glance. “My concern is that he is our son, he is just like both of us. He protects the people he loves and I believe that he loves Melody or at the very least cares deeply for her. I just don’t want him to put himself in danger trying to keep her safe. I agree though that it may put him in more danger not knowing.” Regina replied as she gave Robin and unsure look. “We should tell him, all of us together. We can explain to him that he is not to go after this woman, only get himself and Melody to a safe location and then let us know.” Robin said. Regina remained unsure of this plan, no matter what they did there possible pitfalls to both plans. After a few moments, Regina finally nodded her head in agreement with the plan as she got up from her chair.

She headed to the bottom of the stairs, “Henry, can you come down here please.” she called to her son. When Regina heard his door open and then close she knew he was coming and headed back to the dining room where everyone was waiting. When he came into the room, Henry greeted both Emma and Hook hugs before taking a seat next to Regina and across from Hook. They sat in silence for a moment not sure who should explain this all to him. “Henry, I know you have been wanting me to tell you what Melody and I talked about that day you came home and saw us talking. We decided as your parents that it is time to tell you what is going. Melody came to me that day because Ursula’s sister Morgana threatened her. She thought that when they came to Storybrooke that might be the end of it, but then one day when you guys were at Granny’s, she saw her. We are doing everything we can to keep Melody safe and our working a way to get rid of Morgana. I’m sorry that I was keeping this from you. I just wanted to keep you safe and was worried you would put yourself in danger. You have to promise us that you will not confront Morgana, even if you see her. Just get yourself and Melody somewhere safe and then let us know.” Regina was the one who explained it, she felt it was her responsibility as she had been the one keeping this secret from him. Henry sat quietly for a moment trying to process everything he was just told. “Henry, what are you thinking?” Emma asked. “I’m happy you told me and mom I understand you were trying to protect me. I just am worried about Melody.” Henry said to his parents. Regina could see the worry on her son’s face and she scooted her chair closer to him before putting her arm around his shoulder.

While they were all discussing things with Henry, Ariel and Eric were going to discuss things with Melody. “Hey Mom and Dad, I thought you were going to get dinner?” Melody asked when her parents walked in the house with empty hands. They were both in their own world and did not hear what their daughter was saying to them. “Mom! Dad!” Melody exclaimed trying to get their attention. When she finally did she asked, “What’s wrong?” Ariel looked at her daughter standing in front of her and did not say anything she just pulled her into a tight hug. “Daddy, what’s wrong?” Melody asks after her mother let her go. Eric sees his little girl standing in front of him and not his teenage daughter. “We just got back from Regina’s house. Is there something you forgot to tell us?” Eric asked his daughter. Melody started backing away from her parents. She could not believe that Regina had told them and broken her promise. She could feel the tears coming to her eyes because she knew that if her parents knew then that meant Henry knew. She was feeling terrible for lying to everyone. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t want you to worry and I haven’t seen her since I talked to Henry’s mom. Please don’t be mad at me,” Ariel and Eric could see the pleading in her eyes. 

“Sweetheart, we aren’t mad at you. We just wish you had told us what was going on. We love you and don’t want anything to happen to you.” Ariel says leading her daughter to the couch with a hug. “I love you too Mama,” Melody cuddled into her mom’s arms, “I love you too, Daddy.” Eric smiled before joining his girls on the couch. “If she told you, do you think she told Henry?” Melody was so worried about how Henry would be feeling if he knew. “It wouldn’t surprise me especially since they told Emma and Hook too. I do not see the four of them keeping something like this from him.” Ariel replied. “Mom, I don’t want him to be mad at me. I love him and don’t want him to be hurt either.” Melody explained to her mother. Ariel looked over at Eric because she had no idea what to say, she could not believe that her daughter was in love at 15. “Baby girl, if he loves you too he will understand why you kept things to yourself, but you need to talk to him about it explain why you did what you did.” Eric tells her as he pulls both of his girls into a hug. They decided to have a family night, ordering in pizza and watching a movie. Melody would talk to Henry later. 

They discussed everything with Melody for a bit longer with Henry. The group decided to order pizza for dinner and eat together so that Henry would have all of them around for support. It was an enjoyable evening and around 9 that night, Emma and Hook headed for home. Henry was going home with them as it was still their week for him to stay with them. Robin took Roland up for bed as Regina finished cleaning up.

When Robin returned downstairs, he found Regina sitting on the couch with a mug of tea and the fireplace going. He took a seat next to her, seeing the mug of tea she had waiting for him on the coffee table. Robin wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him. She rested her head on his shoulder, continuing to sit in the comfortable silence between them. They stayed like this for a long while, the only sounds the crackling of the fire and the occasional sipping of their tea. Robin occasionally placed a kiss to the top of her head or would rest his hand on her belly to feel their daughter’s movements like he would often do. When they finished their tea, Robin took her mug from her to the kitchen as Regina headed up to bed.

A few minutes later when he made his way upstairs, he found his wife lying in their bed completely naked. “I just wanted to say thank you for your support today. I figured this would be a good way to do it.” Regina told him. Robin stripped himself of his clothing before climbing into bed with his wife. Immediately placing a heated kiss to her lips, letting his hands wander along her body. “I think this is the perfect way, but you don’t need to thank me. I do it because I love you and I want to support you.” Robin told her between kisses. “Well then…” Regina said as she slipped out from underneath him and started to get out of bed. She did not make it far before Robin got hold of her hips, pulling her back to him. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to mi’lady.” Robin said pulling her closer to him, kissing and nipping along her neck and shoulders. The two made love before falling asleep in each other’s arms.

When they got back to the apartment Henry sat on the couch in silence while Emma and Hook stayed in the kitchen making drinks. “I don’t know what to say to him,” Emma whispered from behind Killian with her head between his shoulder blades. “I know, love,” Killian whispered back, “I don’t know what to think of this whole situation. I see why Regina kept it to herself but the lass is only 15, of course she wasn’t going to tell her parents and Henry which is why we should have been told sooner.” Hook told her. Emma turned her fiance around, but continued to hug him. “I know we should have, but that was partly my fault because I didn’t want to be lying to Henry but now look at him. He hasn’t said two words since we left Regina’s and I don’t know how to help him.” Emma said. Killian kissed Emma’s forehead as the kettle went off for the hot chocolate. Pouring them each a class and doing the fixings on it Killian carried his and Henry’s to the living room while Emma stayed in the kitchen waiting to see what happened. “Lad, what is going through that brain of yours?” Killian asked sitting the cup in front of him. “Thanks,” Henry mumbled, “I just can’t believe that she didn’t tell me she was in danger. I would have been able to keep a lookout a lot sooner, had I been informed sooner. Dad,” Henry looked over to make sure Emma was occupied, “I love her, but I don’t know how to tell her and I don’t want anything to happen to her.” Henry explained. Emma was smiling in the kitchen and Killian could tell by the way she had seemed to relax that she had heard the confession. “Henry, you just have to be honest with her. I know I don’t like it when your mom is in danger either but it comes from loving them so much that we don’t want anything to happen to them so we will do anything we have to in order to protect them, even though I know your mom can protect herself,” he said the end loud enough for Emma to hear and she chuckles from the kitchen. 

Henry headed to bed not long after his talk with Killian and a kiss to his mom’s cheek. Emma and Hook headed in the same direction a short time later. They laid in bed, cuddled together, talking about everything that happened and how they felt about all of this. They ended up falling asleep while they were still talking since they were so tired. Emma still was not feeling well, but continued to not say anything to Killian. Even though Henry was laying in bed he could not seem to fall asleep so, he decided to text Melody. 

Henry: Hey....

Melody: Hey :)

Melody: I’m sry! 

Henry: It’s ok I just wish you had told me. 

Melody: I knw and I’m so sry I didn’t. I just didn’t want anything to happen to u! I care about u too much. 

Henry: Mel, I care about you too that’s why I’m upset you lied to me. I want to be able to protect you. 

Melody: I know and I’m sry for having ur mom lie to u 2. I feel so bad! :( 

Henry: Hey, it’s okay. It will all work out fine. Were you told we aren’t allowed to be anywhere without an adult who can look out for us like one of my moms. I wish we didn’t have to go to one of them after school but I’d rather you be safe than us not have any protection. 

Melody: Yeah my parents told me. I wish we didn’t need it either b/c I want to be able to kiss u when I want but we will figure it out & it won’t be 4ever. Ur moms will defeat her whenever she shows up again. 

Henry: I want to be able to kiss you too! Yes they will and I can’t wait so you won’t be threatened any longer. 

Melody: It’s late so I’m heading to bed. Goodnight Henry! ;) 

Henry: Goodnight sweetie! Sweet Dreams! ;)


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34 

Regina and Robin were getting ready for a night out. They wanted to have one last date night before the baby comes. Robin arranged for the boys to stay with Emma and Hook for the night to give them some extra time alone when they returned. He had just returned from dropping them off and realized that Regina still had not made her way downstairs. “Regina love, are you almost ready? We’re going to be late.” Robin called up the stairs to his wife. “I’ll be down in just a minute.” Regina replied. As promised a minute later, Regina was coming down the stairs. She was wearing a beautiful deep purple dress that showed off her now rather large stomach and larger than normal chest perfectly. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she stopped in front of him because he would not stop staring at her. “What is it?” Regina asked. “You just look stunning.” Robin replied before pulling her into a kiss. “We should probably get going so we’re not late.” Regina told him, pulling away from the kiss. Robin took her hand in his, interlacing their fingers and leading her out the door.

When they arrived at the restaurant, the hostess led them to their seats and set down the menus in front of them. They decided to go somewhere other than Granny’s for once, plus Regina was craving Italian food. The waitress came and took their orders before leaving them alone again at their table. “I can’t believe that in about two weeks, we’ll be a family of five. I’m excited to meet that little girl that’s been growing inside of you for the last 8 ½ months.” Robin said. Regina smiled at the thought of finally seeing her little girl. “I can’t wait to hold her. Although, I am not looking forward to the sleep deprivation. I am tired enough already.” Regina said. “Yeah, definitely not looking forward to the sleep deprivation either.” Robin replied. “I wonder who she is going to look like.” Regina mused aloud. “Well with any luck she is going to look exactly like the beautiful woman sitting here with me.” Robin replied with a smile. “I hope she at least inherits her dad’s sparkling blue eyes.” she responded. He could not help it, he had to lean across the table and kiss her at the thought of the little girl they had created and would be joining their family in just a few short weeks.

They spent the evening enjoying their meal and chatting about work and the kids. It was nice to share a meal together, just the two of them. After dinner, they decided to take a short walk around town together before heading home. Despite it still being winter the last few days had been warmer than normal so they decided they should take advantage. They walked peacefully hand in hand until Regina broke the silence. “Robin, I wanted to talk to you about something while we were out tonight. The closer I get to my due date, there is something that I have been worried about. I want you to promise me that we are still going to make time for each other and still make our relationship a priority even when we are busy. A third child is going to just add to the craziness and I want to make sure that we are both on the same page about keeping our relationship on track.” Regina admitted. She felt guilty even thinking that the baby could come between them, but she did not like to keep anything from Robin. “I can’t promise that our relationship won’t change when this baby comes because it will. What I can promise you is that even though it will change, I will make it my mission to ensure that we spend time just the two of us and that we keep our relationship going strong. I love you and our children more than anything and I will make sure that we are all together, happy, and healthy. I’ve lived my life without you before and I don’t ever want to do it again.” Robin replied. This time it was Regina’s turn to feel the overwhelming need to kiss her husband. She stopped walking and gently pulled him towards her so they could face each other. As soon as they were face to face she crashed her lips into his. When they pulled away from each other, they both needed a few moments to catch their breath before heading back to the car.

When they arrived home, Regina stopped Robin in the foyer. “Thank you for tonight. It was great to go out just the two of us. I’m going to grab some water and I’ll meet you upstairs in a minute.” she told him before planting a gentle kiss on his lips. “I’ll be upstairs waiting.” Robin told her. Ordinarily he would have offered to get the water for her, but he had gotten yelled at earlier in the day for not letting her do things for herself. If he remembered correctly her exact words were “I can do things for myself, I am not an invalid”. Robin made his way upstairs, stripping down to just his underwear before crawling into bed to wait for Regina.

Regina entered their room a few minutes later and made her way to her dresser. She pulled out a silk nightgown that she still fit into despite being 38 weeks pregnant. Once she changed, she crawled into bed and made her way towards Robin. He wrapped his arms around her, giving her a gentle kiss on the lips. “Goodnight.” Regina said as she pulled away. Robin immediately drew her in for another more passionate kiss, pressing his tongue against her lips asking for entrance into her mouth which she immediately granted. After a few more heated kisses, Robin pulled away from her lips only to start kissing her neck and allowing his hands to make their way along her body. He was interrupted by Regina pushing against his shoulder.

“Robin, can we not have sex tonight. I know that you were hoping to, but honestly all I want to do is sleep. Especially with the boys out of the house.” Regina explained. He sighed loudly and rolled away from her to lay on his back. “I’m sorry. I’m just exhausted and my back is killing me. I love you and I hate saying no to this, but I am just so tired all of the time and it kind of kills the mood.” she said. Robin rolled back to face her before saying, “I understand my love, but I was really hoping that with the night to ourselves we could take advantage of it. If you want to sleep instead though, I would never force you to do anything you don’t want to.” Robin replied. As frustrated as he was, he knew that in her previous marriage she was not generally given the option to say no to such a thing and never wanted her to feel like he was forcing her to have sex with him. “Thank you. I promise I will make it up to you.” Regina replied before giving him one final gentle kiss on the lips. She rolled over onto her other side and Robin scooted closer to her so that his chest could be up against her back. He wrapped his arm around her waist, resting his hand on her stomach. Robin propped himself up on his elbow for just a moment to kiss her temple before laying back down. “Goodnight, mi’lady.” he whispered as he laid back down. “Goodnight.” Regina replied, already being pulled in to sleep.

Robin woke early the next morning and quietly made his way out of bed to take a shower. Regina awoke a short time later mainly due to the loss of Robin cuddling her. She always slept best in his arms. She slowly made her way out of bed as her much larger than normal stomach made it more difficult to get around these days. Once she reached her feet, she pulled her nightgown over her head and removed her underwear before she made her way to the master bathroom. Robin had not closed the bathroom door completely so Regina quietly pulled the door open before making her way to the shower. “Mind if I join you.” she said as soon as she opened the shower door. Robin did not say anything he just took hold of her arm and gently pulled her towards him so he did not throw her off balance, knowing that she was a bit slower at getting around as of late. They spent a bit more time than intended in the shower, which made them late to pick the boys up from Emma and Hook’s.

On Monday, they returned to their usual busy lives. Henry had stayed up later than he was supposed to playing video games, so Robin had to practically drag him out of bed for school while Regina made breakfast. Regina had to be out of the house on time, she had back to back meetings all day, including one with Snow to end her day. She kissed all of her boys goodbye before making her way out of the house. Robin told her he would get both of the boys on the bus before heading to the station.

Regina’s day passed by relatively uneventfully, most of her meetings were boring and she may or may not have dozed off a few times during her conference call. When the end of her day rolled around she was sure that she was making the right decision. She needed to slow down with just over a week until her due date. Snow arrived for her meeting with Regina and immediately made her way into the office as Regina was finishing up a phone call.

“Good afternoon Snow.” Regina said as she hung up the phone. “Good afternoon. How are you feeling?” Snow asked. “Completely exhausted, I am just ready to have my daughter in my arms. Although then the real sleep deprivation begins.” Regina answered. “I remember those days. Actually we’re going through it right now, Neal is teething and has had me up every night for the last week.” Snow replied. “Things to look forward to. At least this time I won’t be doing it all alone like I did with Henry. Anyway, I asked you here today to see if you would be willing to do something for me.” Regina explained. “I figured, you’re not one to make a meeting if it’s not something important.” Snow replied. “So, I was planning on going on maternity leave at the end of this week since I will be 39 weeks along then and I could use a bit of extra rest before the baby comes. I was wondering if you would be willing to take over as mayor again while I am on maternity leave since you managed to keep the town standing the last time I took a leave of absence.” Regina told the woman sitting across from her. “I would be honored Regina.” Snow replied. She had enjoyed her previous time as mayor and was excited to do it again for a few months. “So, if you have some time right now I would like to go over some of the basic things that need to get done and the stuff that can be left to the side for a bit as I know you are still teaching.” Regina explained. “I have a little bit of time, David left the station a bit early to pick up Neal.” Snow replied. The two women discussed everything they needed to and Regina reminded her that even though she would be on maternity leave, if Snow needed anything, she could call her.

While Regina was having her meeting with Snow, Robin and Charming were working on a project of their own. Technically, they were still on the clock at work, but Charming was counting this as training for Robin. “You’re doing really well man. I think you are definitely ready to take the test.” Charming explained from the passenger seat of his truck. Robin slowed to stop for a red light before responding to Charming. “Are you sure, I want to pass it the first time. Otherwise, the odds of being able to keep this secret from Regina go way down.” Robin responded. Charming nodded his head before the light turned green and Robin returned his complete focus to the road. “I especially want to be sure with her due date less than 2 weeks away. I would much rather it be me driving than Regina as she will be having contractions.” Robin said a few moments later. “If for whatever reason you don’t pass, I will keep my phone handy. My offer still stands, I can always come get you guys when it’s time for her to head to the hospital.” Charming responded. “Thank you for the offer mate, but I would much rather me be able to drive my wife to the hospital when she goes into labor.” Robin responded. “Well if that’s the case, I say let’s head over and go take the test right now. You are more than ready and I have to pick up Neal in an hour.” Charming replied.

Robin was really nervous about all of this, he needed to get his driver’s license. When they called his name, Charming gave him a pat on the shoulder as he stood from his chair to head out the door and take his driving test. About 15 minutes later he returned to Charming who was still waiting in the same spot. “Well how did it go?” Charming asked. “I got a perfect score, I just have to go get my picture taken and have my license printed. Thanks again for teaching me.” Robin told him. He was rather proud of himself, he had learned to drive after just 3 weeks of practice with Charming. They would practice when they had some down time at the station and would always go somewhere quiet where they knew they would not be seen. Once Robin received his license the two men headed out, Charming dropped Robin off at home before heading off to go pick up Neal.

When Regina finally made it home, she was thrilled that she could smell dinner already cooking. “So, how did it go?” Robin asked as Regina entered the kitchen. “It went well, Snow agreed to take over for me while I go on maternity leave. We went over the basics and hopefully there will still be a town left when I am ready to return to work.” Regina replied as she wrapped her arms around his waist from the side. “Hi.” Regina said. “Hi, dinner is almost ready and the boys are upstairs cleaning their rooms.” Robin told her. “How did I get so lucky to have such an amazing husband?” she asked. “Just lucky I guess. As am I to have the best wife possible.” he replied. Regina placed her hand behind his head to pull his lips to hers, kissing him deeply. After a few moments they pulled away from each other as Henry and Roland entered the kitchen, the older boy giving a not so subtle cough to announce their arrival. “How long were you both standing there?” Regina asked as she removed herself from Robin’s arms to face the boys. “Long enough to be grossed out. Could you guys not do that in the kitchen?” Henry asked. “I’m sorry, but I think for somebody who is now kissing someone they are in love with, that somebody would be more understanding of those who want to kiss the people they love. For example, I love you.” Regina retorted as she made her way to Henry and placed a kiss on his cheek. She then made her way over to Roland, placing a kiss to the top of his head when she reached him. “And I love you.” she told him after she kissed him. “Fine, whatever you say mom.” Henry said. As he made his way to the bathroom to wash his hands for dinner, he muttered under his breath “It’s still gross”. “We all heard that.” Roland called out to his older brother. Regina made her way back over to her younger son to give him a high five. Robin smiled watching the whole interaction and becoming more excited to add another child into this crazy yet loving family.

A few days later, Regina was scheduled for her 39 week check-up. Robin walked over to her office to meet her before heading to the hospital to see Dr. Whale. When he got there he greeted his wife with a quick kiss before grabbing her coat and helping her put it on. They made their way out to Regina’s car and instead of heading for the passenger side like he usually did, Robin made his way to the driver’s side door. Regina thought he was just going to open the door, but instead he held his hand out between the two of them. “What?” Regina questioned him. “Keys please.” Robin told her. “Very funny, we’re going to be late.” Regina replied. “You seem to be misunderstanding mi’lady. I will be driving you to your appointment today.” Robin told her. “Okay seriously, what are you talking about? We need to leave like now or we are going to be late.” Regina replied. “Charming has been giving me driving lessons for weeks. I officially got my license Monday while you were having your meeting with Snow. Now I will be driving my very pregnant and beautiful wife to her doctor’s appointment.” Robin finally explained. Regina gave him a questioning look, but was too tired to argue and she knew that Robin would not put her life or their daughter’s life on the line. She reluctantly handed the keys over before heading over to the passenger side of the car. Robin followed her, only to open the door before heading back around the car to get in the driver seat.

Regina was extremely tense for the first few miles, but she quickly realized that Robin was actually a very good driver. They made it to the hospital safely and Regina had to admit, she was impressed with his driving. As much as she hated to admit it, Charming had done a good job teaching him. The pair held hands as they walked into the hospital. After about 20 minutes in the waiting room the nurse called them back to an exam room. Robin helped Regina get situated on the exam table, while holding onto the clothing she had removed in order to be examined properly. Dr. Whale came in a short time later and went through a typical exam. Now that Regina was this far into her pregnancy, they had been having weekly appointments to monitor her progress. “Well it looks like you are still only about 1 ½ centimeters dilated and about 25% effaced. It may still be a while yet before your little girl decides to make her appearance.” Whale explained. “What exactly do you mean by a while?” Regina asked sounding annoyed and slightly concerned by the possibility of being as uncomfortable as she has been lately for much longer. “It’s completely normal for women to go past their due date with their first pregnancy. I would say at least a week and probably closer to two before you have this baby.” Whale replied. Regina groaned at the thought of going a week past her due date which is basically what the doctor just implied. She was growing more and more uncomfortable with each passing day. “I know it can be frustrating, but this is all completely normal. I will see you in another week for your next appointment as long as you don’t go into labor before then. If you make it past 41 weeks, then we will talk about inducing your labor to try to speed things along.” Whale explained before leaving the room. Robin helped Regina up from the exam table and handed her the clothes he had been holding in order for her to get dressed again.

When they got home after picking up Granny’s for dinner, Regina collapsed on the couch. Thankfully, Regina had decided today was her last day of work and she was now officially on maternity leave. Robin followed her into the living room after dropping of the food in the kitchen and calling the boys to come down for dinner. “Don’t worry, she will be here soon enough.” Robin told her. “Easy for you to say, you aren’t the one who is as big as a house which makes it take twice as long to do things, constantly have to pee, or can’t take a deep breath because every part of you is being squished by the human being growing inside of you.” Regina snapped back. Robin decided to not say anymore at risk of further upsetting her. After a few moments of awkward silence. “Look, I’m sorry for snapping at you. I just am more than ready to have Genevieve in my arms and no longer be pregnant.” Regina said, scooting closer to him. Robin wrapped his arm around her shoulder, placing a kiss to her cheek. “I know, I am ready for her to be here to. Unfortunately, our little girl has a timetable of her own and will make her appearance when she is ready.” Robin replied. They relaxed on the couch for a few minutes until the boys made their way downstairs for dinner. The four of them shared a quiet Thursday night at home. The boys were both off school the next day for a teacher work day. Regina and Roland fell asleep cuddled on the couch during the first movie which left Robin and Henry the opportunity to watch an action movie together for their second movie choice. They finished their movie before waking up Regina and Roland to head to bed. It was one of the last family nights they would spend as a family of 4.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35 

Emma could not believe how fast these last two weeks had passed. So far Morgana had not shown up, but they were not taking any chances. Now that they all knew what was going on it was time to keep Henry and Melody safe. If they were not at school they were with Regina or Emma, except when Melody had to go home. Melody and Henry had been able to get their relationship back on track now that he knew what was going on, but it still did not leave them much time together since there was always a mom around, but Henry also knew that his parent’s were definitely not going to leave him alone with her after him lying to Hook. Regina was a week from her due date, but from her last appointment her body had not progressed at all. She and Robin had talked about letting things happen when they happened, but she was ready for her little girl to be here. Emma felt the same way even though she had 6 weeks till her scheduled cesarean. Her girls were constantly moving making everything she did very uncomfortable, but she still was not ready to give up going into the station. It was better sitting behind her desk than sitting at home by herself while Killian was at work. When she went on maternity leave her dad would be taking up the role of sheriff until she was ready to come back. She still had not decided how long she wanted to take off before coming back. Since things had changed with the last curse nothing was being done like it would have in the past and Regina told Emma she could choose how much time she took off and when she wanted to come back.

Emma’s baby shower was in just a few days and she was not really thrilled about it. It was hard enough being the Savior she just still did not like being the center of attention. She warned Hook that if he did what Robin did he better be ready not to get married for a long time and that she would withhold sex for as long as she felt it needed to be withheld. While sitting at work that Wednesday, her mom came into the station, “Hey sweetheart, where’s your dad?” Snow asked. Emma looked up when she heard her mom speak and smiled at her brother who was trying to get out of his mom’s hold to see his big sister, “Hey Mom, he’s out patrolling with Killian,” she replied before she picked up her brother after her mom had sat him down. Her brother laid his head on her shoulder and was playing with her hair that was pulled into a ponytail. “So everything is almost ready for your shower. You still do not want people to know what you are having?” Snow questioned. Emma sighed, she had gone over all of this with her mom when Snow told her she wanted to throw a shower for her and Killian, “No mom I don’t want people to know. That’s why I asked you to do the theme I did. I know we need clothes and things for the girls but between you, me and even Regina all three girls having a lot of clothes already and I know that Ruby and Belle will constantly be buying them some when they find out I am having two little girls. We are telling people at the shower, but I do not want the theme to reflect that. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is something we knew could be done cute and it does not give anything away but in a way it goes with the theme of the nursery. We have it figured out how we are going to tell everyone but we are going to need to borrow Neal.” Emma explained. Snow had sat down across from her daughter while she was talking. It was hard looking at her and realizing that in just a few short weeks she was going to be a mom again and she did not even get to raise her, but she has turned into an amazing woman and mother. “Mom why are you looking at me like that?” Emma asked. Neal had looked over at his mother too. “Just taking you in and thinking about how proud I am of the woman you have become even though I had nothing to do with it.” Snow replied. Emma put her brother down on the ground before rounding her desk. “Mom, these past few years have been the best yet! You have taught me so much and I’m still continuing to learn from you. I’m going to need you even more after these girls come because I have no idea what I’m doing. Henry was a preteen when I met him; I don’t know the first thing about raising a baby.” Emma told her mom. 

As Emma and Snow were finishing their heart to heart their significant others had entered the station but had stayed quiet in order to give the woman some privacy until Neal yelled, “Dada!”. Coming into the office, Killian placed a kiss to Emma’s head before telling her all was good on patrol and asking if she would like Granny’s for dinner. Emma had not let go of Hook’s hand since he came to stand next to her and she could not help but play with his fingers as they stood there. “Granny’s sounds like a great idea for dinner. Mom, Dad, would you like to join us?” Emma asked. Her parents agreed and after locking up the station they made their way to Granny’s. Now that they were into the middle of March the weather had started to warm up and they could finally walk from the station to Granny’s without freezing. Walking slowly behind her parents, Killian had his hook resting on her hip while his hand was laced with Emma’s in front of them. “How are you feeling, love? You seemed a little off this morning when you were getting ready for work, but seemed fine after we got to the station,” Killian whispered to her as they continued their walk. Emma was thankful that she had not gained more weight than she should and was still in shape since she did not like to sit still, “Was just having some back pains this morning but they seem to have stopped by the time we were ready to leave and they haven’t shown up again.” Emma was not sure why she was having these back pains but she just thought it had to do with being pregnant and how she was carrying the twins so she did not think anything of it. 

When they got to Granny’s they saw that Henry and Melody were sitting at a booth working on their homework while Granny kept an eye on them. “Granny, why are they here and not with Regina?” Emma asked Granny at the counter. “Regina asked if they could study here because she wanted a quiet afternoon. Robin was taking Roland to the park after school so I told her that was fine.” Emma nodded her head in understanding before making her way to the booth her parents and fiance had claimed for them without interrupting the teenagers studying. After they had placed their orders Henry spotted his family. He and Melody decided to join them and they had a great dinner before it was time for all of them to head home. Emma and Killian told Henry and Melody they would take them home so they all walked back to the station together to get her bug while Snow and Charming walked back to the apartment with Neal. “Thank you for the ride home Miss Swan.” Melody said getting out of the car at her house. “It’s Emma and it’s not a problem Melody. We want to protect both you and Henry. Have a good night.” Emma replied. After making sure Melody was in the house they headed toward Regina’s house to drop off Henry when they saw Robin and Roland playing outside on the front lawn with a soccer ball. Once Killian was able to get out Henry was running to join them as Emma and Hook made their way over as well. “How is Regina feeling?” Emma asked taking a seat on the front steps as the boys continued to play, Robin and Killian joining them. “She’s doing okay. Just tired and ready for Genny to be here. She spent most of the afternoon sitting in the rocking chair in the nursery folding clothes and getting things more organized than they already are.” Robin responded with a slight laugh. Emma could not help but chuckle because she had been doing the same thing when she had the chance. It would be even worse after the baby shower on Saturday. “Mind if I go in and see her?” Emma asked. Robin shook his head no as Killian came over to help her stand up since it was getting harder for her to do it herself. 

Opening the door, Emma headed to the kitchen for a glass of water before heading up the stairs to where she knew the nursery was. The door was open so after knocking on the frame to not scare Regina she spoke, “Hello Regina, how are you feeling?” Emma asked. Regina looked up from the clothes she was folding before going back to it, “Huge,” is all she said causing Emma to chuckle, “Do you think this is funny Miss Swan.” Hearing Regina call her ‘Miss Swan’ made her laugh even more too and even cause Regina to laugh as well lightening the mood. “Regina, I know the feeling. I feel huge too and I’m not almost to my due date. Plus I have two little ones kicking my ribs and not one.” Emma replied. Regina looked up and laughed when she saw Emma’s stomach move; Emma placed her hands where she felt the movements and tried to calm her girls down just a bit. “They always seem to be more active when I’m around you and Killian. I just don’t get it,” Emma said still rubbing her stomach trying to get the girls to stop moving. “More than likely they are sensing all the magic in the room Genevieve is the same way when you or Robin is around. With my husband and your fiance it’s because they know Daddy is close but with us it’s all the magic we have. You and I both have it, but because all three girls are also products of True Love they have it too and your’s more than Genevieve since you are a product of True Love.” Regina explained. Emma knew the girls had magic, they figured that out when they defeated Jafar, but to know that they can sense the magic in the room while still in the womb leaves Emma a bit in awe of the whole thing. “What are the boys doing? I haven’t heard them in a while,” Regina asked standing up from the rocking chair. After telling her the boys were all playing soccer outside they decided to join them. They spent the rest of the evening visiting and watching Henry and Roland play around, long after Killian and Robin gave up on playing. 

The next couple of days past in a blur of baby shower prep and getting things situated at the station so that most of it would be done when she began her maternity leave. Killian was also going to take time off, and Emma decided to let John help out while they were both away. What she had not told her dad and Robin was that Killian would not be coming back since he wanted to be a stay-at-home dad to his girls. She was thrilled that he wanted that time with them. Emma had been worried about them having to find a babysitter when it was time for them to go back to work but now she did not have to. She wanted the girls to be able to grow up in their own home and not someone else’s or in a day care. She really has nothing against either one, it’s just not what she wanted for her girls. She did not know what Regina’s plans were and she had thought of asking Elsa to watch them at the apartment, until her fiance told her that he wanted to be a stay-at-home dad and she could not deny him of that. It just made her love him more than she already did. Laying in bed Saturday morning, Emma did not want to move from the cocoon her and Hook seemed to have formed around them with their blanket the night before, but she knew she needed to get a shower before she had to be at the party. Just like Regina’s they choose to make it co-ed because she wanted Killian there with her. “Love, I know you’re awake. I can hear the gears turning in that beautiful head of your’s.” Killian said placing a kiss to the crown of her head. Tilting up to see him she pulled his head down to give him a kiss on the lips, “Good morning, babe,” she whispered. Killian ran his hand down her side bringing it to rest on her baby bump. “How are you feeling this morning Swan? Any back pains?” Killian continued to rub her bump while he placed soft, sweet kisses to wherever he could reach. Emma sighed trying to move closer to him but the bump got in the way, “I feel fine, but would feel better if I could snuggle closer to my fiancee.” Emma replied. Killian let out a chuckle before moving down to be face to face with Emma. Kissing her he tangled his fingers in her long, blonde locks and pulled her lips close to his and gave her a passionate kiss before whispering to her that they needed to get up and get ready for the party. 

After showering and heading toward the lakeside mansion, Emma started to get nervous in the car. Killian could tell this and began playing with her hair as she drove. This seemed to calm her down until they got to the mansion. Getting out of the car Killian moved around to the other side to help Emma out too. Emma headed toward the front door as Hook lagged behind, he patted his jacket pocket to make sure his gift for Emma was there and he could not wait to give it to her later. When they walked into the mansion and gold stars were suspended in the air by magic. “Regina, you must have helped my mom. Thank you!” Emma said staring at all of the beautiful decorations. She could not believe how much things have changed since she first came to Storybrooke. Her and Regina were co-parenting with their True Loves. She was getting ready to have twins and was engaged to be married. Her son is a teenager and such a wonderful person. And the relationship she always hoped to have with her parents when she was in the foster care system she now has and she could not be more grateful for that. Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it and Emma was glad for that. She was loving the life she was living and she would not trade any of it for anything. What she and Killian had not told anyone, including Henry, was that after the girls were older and they were married they wanted to move into a house so they had more room and so that they could have more children, if they wanted them. 

While Emma was deep in thought about the party and the way her life had changed in 5 years, Killian had come up to put his arms around her resting his hand on her stomach, giving her a kiss on the temple. “Swan, are you okay? You’ve been pretty quiet since we stepped in,” he asked her in a whisper. Emma turned in his arms, smiling at him, “I’m good. Just thinking about how my life has changed since Henry brought me to Storybrooke. I never thought I would have any of this.” Emma replied. Killian placed an innocent kiss to her lips as her mother was calling her over to look at the cake. Killian was glad to see his swan happy and loved. He, like Emma, never thought this could be his future but now that they are here he would not trade anything for it. It may have taken him 300 plus years to get here but now he never wants to leave. He moved over to his future father-in-law and his son as they were setting up things for the kids who would be at the party. Since it was co-ed they were not doing much normal baby shower activities, but inside you would think they were. Killian was excited for the rest of the town to know that the twins they were expecting were girls. He was so in love with them already and they were not even here yet. 

As the party got going the women were all fawning over Emma and having girl time while the men all seemed to gather around with the children and work on crafts with them. When it came time for them to reveal the gender, Emma asked Neal, “Baby brother, do you want to come with your big sister for a minute?” Neal smiled at her from their mother’s lap, nodding his head up and down as he reached up for her. Emma carried him over to Killian who took him and led them out of the room to another one. As they were leaving the party room, they could hear people asking in murmurs where they were going. Emma got her brother changed and headed back out to the party with Hook carrying Neal so that the front of his shirt could not be seen. As they sat down in the two chairs that were surrounded by presents before Emma asked, “Neal, are you ready to show everyone your new shirt?” He wiggles out of Hook’s arms and turns around holding his arms out to his side. His new shirt read ‘I love my identical nieces’. Everyone was in shock when they saw what it said, but everyone was congratulating them on their little girls. After opening gifts, they had most of the stuff that they needed for the girls. The big stuff had already been bought by them and her parents and the stuff they got at the shower would come in handy when the girls got here. 

Once cake had been eaten and people started to head out after congratulating Emma and Killian again, the family cleaned up and headed home too. Henry decided to go with Regina and Robin so he could spend more quality time with them before much of their attention would be pulled toward Genevieve. Emma and Killian were glad that Henry was going with Regina, even though they would miss him, they wanted to be able to finish up the girls nursery, which nobody but them had seen. When they got home and got everything up to the apartment Emma went about sorting the clothes to be taken off hangers and washed while Killian moved the other things into the nursery and started organizing them. After getting the load of clothes started Emma joined Killian in the nursery saying, “Babe, I really like how this room turned out. It’s beautiful.” She sat down in the rocking chair rubbing her stomach. “Your back pains back, Love?” Hook asked seeing the discomfort on her face even though she could not be happier in the nursery. “Just as little bit, I’ll be okay in a while. It never lasts long.” Emma said rocking in the chair while she rubbed her pregnant stomach and watched her fiance put things where they belong with her telling him where to put things every once in awhile. While Emma was sitting there watching him; he stopped and placed a box in her lap, “That is for you, love. I wanted to give it to you with nobody else around.” Emma opened the box and saw a new necklace, it was a locket shaped like a heart but the front was clear and had three birthstones in it, one for Henry and two for the girls. “Babe, this is beautiful! I love it! Thank you!” she said pulling him down for a kiss. 

They decided to do the nursery in lilac and aqua nautical theme. Both of the cribs were along the long wall with an end table in between and a sound machine on it. One crib had white sheets with lilac anchors on it while the other had a white sheet with aqua boats on it. When they started talking about the nursery theme, Emma compromised with the nautical theme only if she got to choose the colors. She wanted something that was girly, but not too girly and with the nautical theme it was not. Opposite the cribs on the other long wall was the dresser with a changing pad on top of it and the rocking chair, she was currently in, sat diagonal in the corner between the bay window and dresser with another end table and lamp next to it. The closet was filled with clothes she and Killian along with her parent’s had already bought for the girls. It also had stacks of diapers and wipes from her party now. Henry had insisted on a bookcase being put in the room so they could read to the girls and sitting on top of it was the copy of the storybook he gave her for Christmas. He wanted his sisters to know where they were from; he had, also, insisted on Robin and Regina putting one in Genevieve’s room too. Monogram’s of the girls’ initials were hung above their beds which is why nobody was allowed to enter the room but her and Hook. She even went as far as locking it with magic so that the door handle had to recognize her’s and Killian’s handprints. 

Once Killian was done putting things away in the nursery, they made their way to the master bedroom getting dressed into comfortable clothing and went to relax in the living room. “Killian, what are we going to do when we buy a house? I love the way the kids rooms are done and I feel like we are going to have to just redo them.” Emma asked laying between his legs on the couch. “Don’t worry about that now, love. Lets get through having the girls first and then we will worry about finding a house big enough for us and our children.” Killian answered her before starting to place kisses up and down her neck. Emma had put her hair into a messing bun before moving out to the living room so he had plenty of space to kiss her without having to hold her hair out of his way. As they lie on the couch with Netflix playing a movie on the television, Emma could not help but sigh in contentment as she leaned farther back into his arms. After a short while Emma was able to convince him that they move this to their bed with a passionate kiss to her fiance’s lips. When they moved to their bed they were able to lay facing each other. As the passionate kisses heated up and hands began to roam Emma knew where this was headed. “Love, I don’t want to cause you any more pain than you were already in earlier so we need to stop.” Killian says trying to pull away from her. “Don’t stop, pirate. The back pain is gone. Please just make love to me before I feel too big to want to do this anymore.” Emma said kissing the pulse point on his neck. They continued to make love well into the night before falling into a sleep caused by deep satisfaction.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36 

One week later, Regina was now 41 weeks pregnant and was snapping at everyone in sight. They had an appointment scheduled in 3 days to induce Regina’s labor if it did not happen on its own. Robin was just trying to keep the peace in the house and assisting Regina with all the ideas she had found to induce labor. To be fair, there was one labor inducing activity which Robin was glad Regina wanted to try, every night this week in fact. Some of the other ideas were a bit less enjoyable such as eating super spicy food. This only upset Regina’s stomach and made her even more cranky for the rest of the night. She was tossing and turning all night long because she could not get comfortable to sleep. It was keeping Robin up as well which made Regina’s mood twice as trying on his patience. He loved this woman with everything in him, but more than once in the last week he wanted to scream and yell at her with how frustrating she was. She would often apologize later for her mood, but a short time later something else would upset her and they would be right back where they started.

“Robin, are you coming to bed soon?” Regina called down the hall from their room. He was finishing up Roland’s bedtime story, “I’ll be there in a minute.” he replied back to her. Robin chose to spend a few extra minutes with his son and ended up falling asleep with Roland in his bed. Thankfully, Regina had fallen asleep as well. About an hour later Regina awoke to a very strong contraction. She stayed in bed and tried to fall back asleep once the contraction ended. She had 4 more contractions in a matter of 25 minutes which made her realize she was likely in labor. Regina made her way out of bed to go find Robin. As she was opening Roland’s bedroom door she felt liquid running down her legs. “Robin, wake up.” she said as she gently shook his shoulder in hopes of not waking Roland as well. “What is it?” he replied still half asleep. “I think my water just broke.” Regina answered. As soon as what she had just said registered with Robin his eyes shot open. “Okay, I’ll grab the boys and you can go call Hook to let him know we will be dropping the boys off.” Robin told her.

Regina made her way back to their room to grab her phone and make the call. Thankfully, it was still early enough in the night that Hook was still awake when she called. At the same time, Robin gently picked Roland up from bed trying not to wake the sleeping child. He made his way to Henry’s room and woke the teenager up, informing him of what was happening. Their bags for the hospital had been packed weeks ago and Regina had instructed Robin to leave them in the trunk of the car at all times once she reached the 40 week mark. After dropping two very sleepy boys off at Emma and Hook’s, they made their way to the hospital. At this point Regina’s contractions were about every 4 minutes apart. Robin tried to coach her in the breathing techniques they learned in Lamaze class while still staying focused on the road. “You’re doing great. We will be at the hospital in just a few minutes.” Robin told her. 

As promised a few minutes later they were pulling into the hospital parking lot. Regina had called from the car to let them know that they were on their way. Robin parked the car before helping Regina get out and leading her into the hospital. When they reached the entrance a nurse grabbed a wheelchair for her and took them both to the maternity wing. About 20 minutes after they arrived, Regina had changed into a gown and was hooked up to monitors that were tracking the baby’s heartbeat as well as her contractions. Her contractions were currently about 4 minutes apart and were more painful than Regina ever could have imagined them being. Dr. Whale came in a few minutes later to check her. “Well, you are officially in active labor. You are 3 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. You still have a ways to go so I will be back in a few hours to check you again unless something happens before then that requires my attention. If you want an epidural we can get one started once you’re another centimeter dilated.” he explained to the nervous couple. Regina was holding onto Robin’s hand, squeezing it every time she had a contraction. “I want to try to do this naturally if possible.” Regina told him. Whale nodded his head before heading out of the room.

It had been a long night for both Regina and Robin. Her contractions were progressively getting stronger and closer together. Around sunrise, Whale returned to check her. She was now 5 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. It was slow, but at least it was progress was all Robin kept reminding her. He had not slept at all, doing his best to coach Regina through each contraction. Seeing his wife in pain was almost unbearable and not just because Regina was squeezing his hand so hard he thought she may break it. He wished that he could do something more to alleviate her pain. She was continuing to refuse an epidural despite Robin’s pleas that it would make her more comfortable. Well as comfortable as anyone can be in labor.

Another few hours passed and Regina was still insisting she did not want an epidural. “Are you absolutely positive about this Regina? If we wait too much longer, your labor will be too far along for us to do the epidural.” Whale asked after checking her. She had only progressed another centimeter since he last checked her. Regina hesitated to respond and Robin could see her resolve on this issue begin to disappear as he looked into her eyes. “Robin what do you think I should do?” she asked, squeezing his hand as another strong contraction ripped through her. “I hate seeing you in this much pain and it would make you more comfortable, but it is up to you. I will support you whatever you choose to do.” Robin replied. Regina groaned before telling him, “I love you, but that was not all that helpful”. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to make a decision before the next contraction took hold of her body. In the end Regina’s stubbornness won out and she decided to forgo the epidural yet again.

Regina’s labor continued through the morning and well into the afternoon until around 5 o’clock when she had finally reached 10 centimeters. “What do you say we meet your little girl?” Whale asked as a nurse helped him to put on a gown and gloves. Regina nodded her head trying to take some deep breaths before she needed to push. “On the next contraction I’m going to need you to push Regina.” Whale instructed her. “You can do this sweetheart, our little girl will be in your arms soon.” Robin encouraged her, knowing what she was about to go through. He had been through this once before and remembered the screams that came from Marian as Roland was being delivered.

As soon as the next contraction started, Regina pushed as Whale and the nurse counted 10 seconds out loud to cue her as to how long she needed to push. This was a whole new level of pain that Regina had yet to experience. Despite this she was doing remarkably well Robin thought. She was squeezing his hand so tight that he was pretty if he looked down it would be changing colors, but otherwise she was remaining relatively quiet.

Close to an hour later Regina was completely exhausted, her forehead was dripping with sweat and she was not sure how much longer she could do this for. “You’re doing great Regina. Two more pushes and your daughter should make her appearance.” Whale explained. Robin kissed her hair before leaning towards her ear to whisper words of encouragement to her as he held her hand. He could see the toll that this was taking on her and wanted to support her as much as he could. Two contractions and rounds of pushing later Genevieve Hope Locksley entered the world on April 1st at 6:02 pm. “Robin would you like to cut the cord?” Whale asked. He nodded his head, taking the scissors from the nurse and cutting the cord. She let out a big cry after a few moments and Whale immediately moved to place the newborn onto the blanket that was laying on her mother’s chest. Regina burst into happy tears at the sight of her daughter. Robin was gently caressing her hair as a few tears also escaped his eyes. “You did amazing. I love you.” he told her as he leaned in to place a gentle kiss to her lips. “I love you too.” Regina replied when their lips parted.

They basked in these first few moments they spent with their daughter before the nurse took the child from Regina temporarily to clean her up and take some measurements, bundling her up in a blanket before handing her to Robin. “She is perfectly healthy. 7 pounds 8 ounces and 20 inches long.” Dr. Whale told them as the nurse handed Genevieve to her father. Once they were situated and Whale finished taking care of Regina after the birth, Robin handed the newborn back to the arms of her mother after placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. The couple was then left alone to bond with their newborn daughter.

The two spent the next hour fawning over their daughter in awe of what they had created together. Genevieve had a full head of dark hair, the most adorable little face, and when she opened her eyes briefly it was clear she had inherited her father’s bright blue eyes. She was peacefully resting in her mother’s arms as Robin pressed kisses to his daughter’s forehead as well as his wife’s temple, leaving his hand to rest on the top of Genevieve’s head as his free arm wrapped around Regina’s shoulders. He was perched on the edge of her bed, trying to be as close to his wife and daughter as possible. Eventually, the newborn began to fuss and Regina’s motherly instincts kicked in, realizing that her daughter was likely hungry. Robin pressed the call button for the nurse to come assist Regina with the first feeding. Since Henry was adopted, Regina had always given him bottles, leaving her a bit lost when it came to nursing. The nurse came in to assist Regina who quickly caught on to how this all worked. Robin watched in amazement at how natural his wife seemed at doing this. Once she finished feeding Genevieve, the nurse took their daughter to the nursery in order to allow the parents to get some rest promising to bring her back for her next feeding.

After some much needed rest the couple woke up the next morning and immediately had their daughter brought to Regina’s room. The nurses came in and helped Regina to shower while Robin held their little girl, allowing him some one-on-one bonding time. A shower was exactly what Regina needed, she felt much better after, but she was definitely still very sore. After her shower it was time for her daughter to eat again. Regina planned to nurse at least for the first few weeks and then progressively switch her over to formula before she returned to work. She worried that trying to maintain a nursing schedule for her daughter would be too difficult between work and the constant threats from various villians. Soon after she finished feeding Genny, the boys arrived accompanied by Hook and Emma.

The newborn was fast asleep in her mother’s arms, so the group quietly made their way into the room. Henry made his way to his mother first, giving her a gentle hug from the side before sitting at the edge of her bed to get a good view of his new little sister. Robin picked Roland up into his arms, taking the boy over to join Regina and Henry. He set the young boy down on the other side of Regina’s bed after instructions that he needed to be gentle with his mom and little sister. Regina leaned over to kiss each of her sons on the head. Emma and Hook had also made their way closer to the family to get a good look at the newborn and congratulate Regina and Robin. 

“Henry, do you want to hold her?” Regina asked. He nodded his head and his mom handed the still sleeping newborn into his arms. “Hi there baby sister. It’s great to finally get to meet you. I am one of the people who has been talking to you for the last few months that you have been in mom’s belly. I love you and promise to be your over protective big brother forever.” Henry quietly said to her before placing a kiss to her forehead. He held her for a little while before Robin sat down in a chair, placing Roland in his lap. Henry then brought Genevieve over to the pair, placing her into Roland’s arms with some assistance from Robin to support Roland’s arms as he held his sister. After handing his sister to his younger brother, Henry crawled into bed with Regina to get in some cuddle time with his mom. Regina watched all of the interactions so in love with the 4 most important people in her world.

After a few minutes, Roland’s arms began to get tired so Robin took Genny into his arms. “Emma or Hook, would one of you like to hold her?” Regina asked. “Definitely, if you don’t mind.” Emma replied. Robin handed the newborn to Emma who immediately snuggled the newborn in her arms while sitting down in the chair Robin had just vacated since she was having back pains again. “She is gorgeous Regina.” Emma told her after a few moments. “Thank you. Just think a few weeks from now, you will have two of your own in your arms.” Regina replied. A few minutes passed in silence before Regina asked the question she and Robin had discussed a few weeks ago, “So, since both of you are here right now we wanted to ask you a question. We were wondering if you would like to be Genevieve’s godparents?” Regina asked. Emma and Hook glanced at each other for a moment before reaching the same conclusion. “We would be honored.” Emma responded with Hook nodding in agreement. Once Emma got in a few more minutes of snuggling she turned to Hook, handing the newborn to him. Emma could not get over how it felt to see her pirate cradling a newborn and smiling down at her. She seemed to fall in love with him even more than she already was and she knew that would happen even more when she watched him holding their little ones.

As her fiancé was snuggling Genevieve close whispering to her, Snow and Charming knocked on the door. “May we come in?” Snow asked. “Of course.” Regina replied. The couple made their way over to Hook so they could see Genny for the first time in person. Robin had sent them a few pictures last night, but they were thrilled to finally meet the newest member of the family in person. “Regina, how are you feeling?” Snow asked, making her way over to her step-mother. “Pretty sore and tired, but otherwise I feel good. I’m just thankful she is finally here with us.” Regina responded. “Well I have to say, you and Robin definitely make adorable children. She is beautiful you guys.” Charming said as he shook Robin’s hand. Hook got in a little bit more time holding her, before handing her off to an eager Snow. After holding her for a short time, Snow handed the baby over to her husband. A few minutes after she was placed in Charming’s arms the newborn began to fuss, indicating it was time for her to eat again. “Well I think that is our cue to head out. The boys can stay with us for as long as you guys need.” Hook told the couple. “Thank you, we should be going home tomorrow so I’m thinking the boys can head home later tomorrow or the next day depending on what time we go home.” Robin replied. The group said goodbye, congratulating the couple once again before leaving them alone to be with their daughter.

When Emma and Killian got home with the boys neither one would stop talking about their little sister. Henry had taken some pictures of her on his phone. He and Roland just kept looking at them talking about everything they would teach her and that they could not wait till she was home. Emma smiled through all of it but at the same time had tears coming out of her eyes. It made her want her little girls here with them even more. She was happy for Regina and Robin. She could not believe they asked her and Hook to be the godparents. She just really wanted her girls here and was worried if Henry would feel the same way about them as he does Genevieve. “Love, everything with be fine. Genny is healthy and beautiful. Our girls will be here soon and will be just as healthy and beautiful. Don’t worry about Henry. He will love our little princesses just as much. His phone will be full of pictures of his little sisters,” Killian whispered into her ear from behind like he could read what was going on in her mind. “Bloody hell, Swan,” Killian groaned as Emma turned in his arms and gave him a kiss. “You looked good holding a baby, pirate,” Emma chuckled as she laid her head against his chest. They spent the rest of the night talking to the boys about Genny and watching movies knowing that for the night everyone was safe.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37 

Emma and Killian were happy for Regina and Robin. Genevieve was a gorgeous little girl, but it made them want to be able to hold their little girls in their arms even more. Emma was starting to feel worse and her back pains more frequent so she was ready for the girls to be out. Killian on the other hand was willing to wait just under 4 more weeks for his little princesses. Emma could not help but laugh every time he called them princesses because she was always calling them pirates. She knew that no matter what with her’s and Killian’s blood running through them they were going to be a handful, any kids they had were going to be. She could imagine phone calls from the principal telling her the girls had fooled their teachers, yet again, by switching identities for certain classes. Emma had the feeling they would be pulling plenty of pranks on their big brother and uncle too. Emma could not wait to see all the things her girls would achieve. She had always promised herself that when she had kids they would have a better life than she did. Henry has that because for the first 10 years of his life Regina gave him the best life possible, now they are doing it together. Her girls and future children will have it because even though Hook drives her crazy sometimes, her children will always have their Mommy and Daddy. She is even getting the life she never had with her parents and now with her baby brother. The closer it got for the girls to arrive the more emotional she seemed to get over things like this. 

“Swan, what are you thinking about?” Killian asked her on Sunday morning while he was getting breakfast made, she was sitting on the couch relaxing and Henry was still in bed. “Just thinking about what our future is going to be like with these little girls. How much trouble they are going to find to get into.” Emma turned her head to smirk at him. He knew she was referencing the fact that since he was their father that is why they would be getting into so much trouble. Henry and Roland stayed with them when Regina went to the hospital to have Genny. Genevieve was now 4 days old and her and Regina were home with Robin and Roland. Henry had stayed at Regina’s the first couple of nights she was home, but decided to stay with Emma and Killian at night so that when he was doing school work he did not have to listen to a newborn cry. “Good morning,” Henry mumbled coming out of his room and flopping onto the couch with his mom. “How about instead of laying back down you go do the chore you promised to do last night before bed and didn’t do,” Emma suggested to him. Giving her a groan he got up and went to unload and reload the dishwasher. He knew that in both houses he was supposed to help with chores and usually he did not care, but he despised dishes. “Thank you,” Emma said coming in to get herself some more hot chocolate as Killian was plating breakfast for the three of them. Once they were finished they decided to just spend the day in lounging around. 

“Can I please see the nursery?” Henry asked for the thousandth time since they got it finished after the baby shower. “Do you really want to see the nursery or do you just want to know what we are naming your sisters?” Killian asked him as he pulled Emma closer to his side. “Both,” Henry exclaimed hoping his parents would let him go in. “How about this. I will cloak the things that have their names and initial on it so he can see the nursery, but not know the names. How does that sound, pirate?” Emma looked up at Killian from her spot against him. “Fine,” he grumbled as Emma got up from the couch and the two of them followed her. As they got to the room, Emma was taking down the locking spell and putting up the cloaking spell. “Go ahead,” she said letting Henry turn the knob and go into his sisters’ nursery. “Oh my gosh! Mom, Dad, I think it’s great! I can’t wait for them to be here. It’s not fair that them and Genevieve have these amazing rooms,” he said looking around at everything. “Lad, you have a pretty great room. Oh wait you have two rooms that are pretty amazing so don’t even start in on your sisters’.” Killian laughed keeping his arms around Emma. He could tell she was getting tired even though it was not quite noon. This worried him slightly because he had a feeling something was wrong and she was not telling him. 

Emma excused herself from the room as tears ran down her cheeks. Her back pains were getting worse today, but she was really hoping they would subside. Going into the master bathroom she started a warm bath and turned on some soothing music in order to help her relax. After getting into the tub and laying back, she began talking to her girls. She had not felt them move in a few days and even though she could feel tiny moves here and there she was still starting to worry. “Girls, what’s going on in there. Mommy’s back hurts but she’s hoping that has nothing to do with the two of you. You need to stay in there and get a bit bigger. You still have 4 more weeks. Daddy and I are ready for you, but please take your time.” Tears continued to pour out of Emma’s eyes as her back started to hurt more. “Killian!” She yelled from the bathroom trying to get her fiance’s attention. Killian came running in when he heard Emma yell for him, seeing the tears he asks, “Emma, what’s wrong?” All she could do was shake her head holding her stomach, “I think something is wrong. We need to go see Whale now!” Killian helped her out of the tub and into their room before sitting her on the bed. “Stay here for a minute. I’ll help you get dressed after I have Henry call your parents.” Killian told her before he left the room.

“Dad, what’s wrong? You look frazzled.” Henry met him in the hallway. “Frazzled?” Killian questioned the word, not knowing what it meant here. “Weary, tired out,” Henry explained. “When then yes I am frazzled, as you say. I need you to call you grandparents right now and tell them to get here. Emma thinks something is wrong with the babies and we need to get her to Whale.” Killian could see the worry on Henry’s face, but did not know what else to say to him at the time since his thoughts were all jumbled together with worry about his girls. “Okay, I’ll call Robin to come get me too. I’ll help with Roland until I know what’s going on with Mom and the babies.” Henry tells him pulling his cell phone out and dialing his grandparents first while Hook went to help Emma get dressed. As they were coming out of the bedroom, Snow and Charming were walking in the door without her little brother. “Where’s Neal?” Emma asked worried more about him than herself. “Granny has him. You are our main priority right now, sweetheart. Don’t worry about anything else, but yourself and those babies. Now lets get your to the hospital,” Snow tells her getting ready to usher her out the door as Robin shows up for Henry. Not saying anything to him, Emma and Snow keep heading to the cars. “Thanks for coming for him,” Killian said as he ushers Henry and Robin out the door behind Charming. “I’ll have Snow text you and Regina about what is going on.” Robin nodded his head as Henry got into the truck he recently bought. 

When they got to the hospital Killian truly knew something was wrong because the tears had not stopped since she got out of the tub. “Whale something is wrong…” Killian told him when Whale came into the room they set Emma up in. “Lets get you checked out Miss Swan,” Whale got ready to check Emma. “She has been having back pains but didn’t tell anyone.. Bloody hell,” Killian took a deep breathe trying to calm himself, “They must have gotten worse today because she hasn’t stopped crying since she called out for me earlier.” he explained further. “Well MIss Swan, Captain, it seems all those back pains you’ve been experiencing were actually labor pains. We are going to try to stop them and put you on Terbutaline and a corticosteroid that will help the girls’ lungs develop so that they can breath on their own outside the womb we are just doing this as a precaution. I’m also putting you on hospital bed rest and if we can’t get the labor to stop we will take you in for a cesarean. Don’t stress Miss Swan or none of this will work and we will be delivering the girls early.” Whale explained to the scared couple. 

Killian stepped out of the room after they started Emma on the medications to tell her parents what was going on. Snow said she would talk to Robin and Regina to let them know, but that if he needed them back here to call them and they would come right back. As time went by the contractions stopped, but Whale wanted to still keep her overnight so that they could monitor her and make sure they did not start back up again. Killian was sleeping on a cot in Emma’s room while she slept until her cries of pain woke him up. He went to get the nurse as fast as possible. Whale came in and saw that the contractions had picked back up again, this time stronger and closer together. “Miss Swan we are going to have to take you into a cesarean to get your girls out.” Whale told her as the nurse came in to get her ready for the surgery and gave Killian a pair of scrubs too. While they were getting Emma taken care of Killian called her parents and told them what was going on. Snow told him they would be there soon and they would see them after Emma was out of the surgery. 

“Killian,” Emma said reaching for his hand before they wheeled her to the operating table, “I”m scared” Killian clasped onto Emma’s hand before kissing her forehead, “Everything will be fine, love. We are going to get to meet our baby girls just relax.” Emma pulled him close, “Promise me that when they take our girls to the NICU that you go with them. Don’t worry about them closing me up. Go with our girls.” Killian stared at her, “Emma, I can’t do that. You need me too. Please don’t make me promise that.” Pulling his head closer to her, “They need you more than I do. They need a parent with them. Are you ready to be a Dad, Hook?” Killian placed a kiss to Emma’s lips before saying, “I already am a dad or did you forget we have a 15 year old at home?” Emma chuckled and Killian was happy to see her smiling again, “I love you, my Swan.” Emma kissed him once more as the nurse told her they were ready for her, “I love you too, pirate.” 

Killian paced the hallway until it was time for him to go into the operating room. He was starting to question everything. Was he going to be a good father? Did him and Emma move their relationship along too fast? Should they have waited until they were married to settle down to start a family? Would he ever feel like he was doing right by his little princesses? Did he make the right decision in telling Emma that he wanted to be a stay-at-home dad? He’s never raised a child before, or even spent much time with them until Henry, Roland, and Neal came into his life, but he still did not feel like the right choice in taking care of his daughters by himself all day. When they, finally, brought him into the operating room, Emma could see the worry on his face. “Babe, what are you thinking? You look scared,” Emma asked as the doctor announced he was going to make the first cut, but that Emma should not feel anything. “Let’s talk about it another time. Our girls will be here soon so let’s worry about them.” Killian told her placing a kiss to her forehead. “Okay, Emma you will feel a tiny bit of tugging but that just means we are trying to get the babies.” Dr. Whale told her as Killian watched her get a cringed look on her face. He continued to whisper sweet words to her as they waited on them to announce one baby was finally here. After several minutes of tugging Dr. Whale announced, “It’s a girl,” as he passed her off to the nurse and Killian peaked over the sheet to look at his first daughter, Ansleigh Ryan was born at 4:36 a.m. on Wednesday, April 13th. What worried him is that since she had come out, she had not made a peep. Just as he was getting ready to ask why she had not cried she let out a whimper as Dr. Whale announced “it’s a girl” again. Kensington Marie was born less than a minute after her sister at 4:37 a.m. Unlike her sister Kensington came out crying while all Ansleigh seemed to be doing was whimpering. “We are going to take them to the NICU,” the nurse told them as they brought them over for both Emma and Killian to see before taking them away.

“Killian, go with them please,” Emma cried watching her two new daughters get taken from the room. “I’ll come tell you what is going on as soon as I know. I promise,” he kisses her before getting up and following his girls and the nurses to the NICU. Once they got there the girls were checked out before getting them cleaned up. Ansleigh Ryan was born weighing 3lbs 1oz and 16 inches long while Kensington Marie was born weighing 3lbs 3oz and 16 inches long. Ansleigh still had not cried and it was determined that she had Transitory Tachypnea, which is where there is a buildup of fluid in her lungs. They told Killian they would put her on oxygen, but that she should be okay in a few days. Kensington was doing good, but because she was small they would be keeping her in the NICU. Killian sat between his girls beds in a rocking chair. Kensington laying on his chest and Ansleigh lying in her bed. They had not opened their eyes yet but they had lots of blond hair on the top of their head and he could pick out what features were Emma and which ones were his. He could not believe that he was now responsible for two little newborns. 

“Mr. Jones,” one of the nurses said coming over to him, “Miss Swan is in a room and asking for you.” Killian stood up kissing Ansleigh on her head before moving with Kensington, “It’s alright if I take her with me right?” he asked the nurse. He did not want to cause his daughter harm, but he did not want to leave both of them either. “I’m sorry sir. She can’t leave the NICU for her own health. We need to keep her away from the germs that could be outside of here.” Killian nodded his head as he secured the blanket tighter around his little girl before laying her back in her bed and making his way to the room they told him Emma was in. Hearing the door open Emma looked up, a wide smile breaking out across her face as she saw her fiance, but he saw it fall the second she realized he did not have a baby with him. “Why aren’t the girls with you? What’s wrong with our little girls?” Emma asked him as she started freaking out. Killian got her to calm down and told her everything that he found out in the NICU and that Emma could feed Kensington when she was allowed to go see them, but would need to pump for Ansleigh for the time being. “Killian, I want to so see my girls!” Emma tried to get out of bed. “Swan, please lay back down. You just had surgery, you can’t be out of bed yet. They said you could see them tomorrow.” Killian said trying to calm her down and realized it was not working. Emma just keep crying she wanted to see them. She eventually calmed down and fell asleep; Killian kissed her on the head before heading back to the NICU to spend time with his girls. 

The next morning the doctor cleared Emma to go to the NICU, but she had to stay in a wheelchair. When they got there Killian placed Kensington in Emma’s arms. The nurse told Emma it was time for them to eat if she wanted to try and nurse Kensi and then they would have her start pumping for Ansleigh. Killian sat there staring at their daughter until she was done; he could not have loved his swan any more than he was at that moment. “I could get used to this view,” Killian said watching Kensington nurse. “How does that feel, Swan?” Emma chuckled pulling her eyes from her daughter, “It’s a little weird but it’s also pretty amazing. Have they opened their eyes yet? I see they have lots of blond hair” Killian pulled the cap from his daughter’s head so he could kiss it before saying, “They both have blue right now, but the nurse said that could change.” As she finished up, Emma handed her off to Killian to be burped while Emma moved her wheelchair closer to Ansleigh. The lactation consultant came in and help Emma get set up on pumping while she spent time with her girls. After she was done, Killian took Emma back to her room. When he helped her into the bed Emma had Killian put her far enough over that he could lay in the bed with her. She knew she would sleep better with him by her side. Their girls were in good hands and could wait a little bit for their daddy to come back. Emma fell asleep not long after laying her head on Hook’s shoulder, whereas he did not get much sleep worried about all of his girls. He kept waking up every couple of minutes to make sure Emma was comfortable and to make sure that nothing was wrong with the girls. After Emma got a couple hours of sleep she woke in pain. “Love, are you okay?” she heard Killian ask, but could not feel him next to her. Looking toward the sound of his voice she saw him sitting in the chair next to the bed reading a book. “Just in a bit of pain can you get the nurse?” Emma said trying to sit up more. 

Emma sighed thinking about her daughters and wanting to be down in the NICU with them, but knew she need to be healed in order to take care of them just as much as they needed to be where they were. As she was laying in her bed, her parent’s knock on the door and enter with Henry. Thankfully, Emma had already finished pumping for the girls and had covered herself up before they had come in. “Henry are you ready to meet your sisters?” Emma asked reaching one of her arms out to her teenage son. “I can’t wait but why aren’t they here with you?” Henry asked worried about why his mom wasn’t holding either of the girls and neither was his dad. “Ansleigh was having a little trouble breathing on her own and Kensington is just too little to be out of there right now so they are in the NICU. Killian is with them now,” Emma said telling them everything would be okay. Henry moved over to his mom giving her a hug and kissing her cheek. “Henry, want to push my chair down to the NICU after I’m helped into a wheelchair then we can go see your sisters” Henry nodded as her dad moved to help her into the chair next to her bed. 

Going into the NICU they all got scrubbed up and put in gown before going over to where Killian was sitting with Kensington against his chest. “Henry, Mom, Dad, meet Ansleigh Ryan,” Emma pointed toward the crib holding her daughter, “and Kensinton Marie.” Emma smiled over at Killian. “Dad, she is so cute. Can I hold her?” Henry asked as he moved over to stare at Kensington asleep in his father’s arms. “Of course you can, lad,” Killian says getting ready to hand him Kensi after Henry moved back to the seat he had just vacated. Killian leaned over to give Emma a quick kiss on her lips before she went back to watching her son whisper to her youngest daughter. Henry was talking quietly enough that nobody knew what he was telling her. He had done the same thing with Genevieve when he held her for the first time and it would not surprise them if he did it with Ansleigh too. “So Emma said that she was having trouble breathing?” Snow said trying to figure out exactly what was going on with Ansleigh. “She has fluid built up in her lungs that they weren’t able to get it out so it’s making it harder for her to breath. They said it should clear up on it’s own in a couple of days.” Killian said as he moved over to Ansleigh. Killian could not help but smile down at his beautiful little girl. Killian watched his future mother-in-law place her hand against Ansleigh’s incubator and talk to her like she was holding her. He could not believe that he was getting to share this with all of them. After Henry finished holding Kensington, he took Emma back to her room and got a nurse to help get her back into bed. Killian stayed with Snow and Charming as they took turns holding Kensington and sharing special moments with Ansleigh. As they came back into the room Henry was laying in bed with his mother and they had both fallen asleep. Not wanting to wake them; Killian, Mary Margaret and David went back to the NICU where they could talk and hang out with the girls. 

Henry: Hey, we fell asleep. Where are you?

Killian: We came back to the NICU after we saw you guys asleep. We are coming back now. 

Henry: Okay :) 

When Killian, Snow, and Charming came back to the room and spent some time with Emma and Henry before they were getting ready to leave when Henry got a text. 

Robin: Hey lad, your mom and I were going to see Emma and the twins want to go with us? 

Henry: Grandma and Gramps brought me, but I can stay and wait for you and mom then head home with you. 

Robin: Sounds good! We will see you soon. 

A short time later Regina and Robin arrived at in Emma’s room. They checked on Emma before Killian led them down to the NICU to meet Ansleigh and Kensington. It amazed them both how tiny the twins were. The two of them together were still smaller than their 4 day old they had at home. They shared a look that told the other one they were thinking the same thing. They were worried about the newborn twins of two people who were essentially family to them, but they were also grateful for their healthy daughter which left them both feeling a pang of guilt. Robin placed a reassuring hand on Regina’s lower back as Hook handed Kensington to her. “Hey there little one. You and your sister need to get bigger and stronger so that you can go home. We have our own little girl who needs some friends to play with.” Regina whispered to the little girl she held in her arms. She felt a small tear fall down her cheek while holding the tiny newborn. She could not imagine how she would handle it if her own daughter was here. After a few more snuggles with Kensi, Regina handed her to Robin. “She’s beautiful mate. They both are.” Robin told Hook as he stared down at Kensi. “Thank you.” Killian replied. They spent a few more minutes holding Kensington and talking to Ansleigh in her incubator, before heading back to Emma’s room to visit with her for a few minutes.

“How are you feeling Emma?” Regina asked. She herself was still rather sore after giving birth and could not imagine how Emma was feeling after requiring a c-section. “I’m in some pain, but I’m more worried about the girls.” Emma replied. Regina nodded understanding that as a mother, your own needs and problems were often pushed to the side in order to care for your children. After talking to Emma for a few more minutes, the two said their goodbyes, ready to get home to their little girl.

When they arrived home, Regina immediately went to her daughter’s room. Tink had come over to stay with her for a bit and was just finishing up changing her diaper. “Hey, how is Emma? How are the babies?” Tink asked as Regina entered the room. Robin went to check on Roland before heading to Genevieve’s room as well. “Emma is doing okay. The girls are both really small and Ansleigh is having a bit of trouble breathing, but the doctor’s think they are going to do just fine.” Regina said as she picked her daughter up from the changing table. She kissed her forehead before snuggling her close. Tink said her goodbyes before letting herself out. “What are you thinking sweetheart?” Robin asked Regina. “I just can’t imagine what Emma must be going through right now. If it had been Genevieve…” she trailed off, unable to finish what she was saying. Robin wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He placed a kiss to Regina’s temple before kissing his daughter’s forehead. They spent some time in comfortable silence just holding each other and being even more grateful to have their daughter there with them and healthy.

After Regina, Robin and Henry left Killian and Emma spent some time with their girls before spending time together. They knew that the next few weeks were going to be crazy and they both needed to rest while they had the chance. Emma kept trying to get Killian to go home and rest but he didn’t want to leave his all of his girls in the hospital without him for even a second.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38 

Regina and Robin had spent the last week juggling three children. They knew it would be challenging, but they had not imagined just how challenging. The sleep deprivation was definitely starting to take its toll on both of them, making every day that much more difficult to manage everything. Robin was constantly driving Henry between their house and the hospital as well as making sure both boys got to school on time. Regina had been focusing primarily on caring for Genevieve, but she also tried to spend time with the boys, doing homework and eating family dinner together. She did not want either one of them to feel like they were being ignored or pushed to the side because of the new baby.

Genevieve was doing great. Regina was thankful that nursing came easily to her and she was able to feed her daughter without too much of a struggle. She had also begun pumping in order for Robin to also get up with their daughter when she woke up in the middle of the night for a feeding. Genny was sleeping in 3-4 hour spurts at night which Regina was grateful for. Regina tried to stick to the old adage that you should sleep whenever the baby sleeps, but that was easier said than done. She would try to get housework done or spend time with Henry and Roland as well when Genevieve would sleep in order to give them her undivided attention. The boys were doing great with their sister. Henry was helping with diaper changes and would keep an eye on her at times to allow Regina to make dinner or take a quick nap. Roland was doing what he could to help as well, he loved to bring them items they needed when taking care of the baby because it made him feel involved in all of it. It came as no surprise to Regina that Robin was amazing with Genevieve. He was constantly telling her to go relax for a few while he would care for their daughter. Her heart would soar watching Robin with Genevieve as it always had when he would be doing something with Henry and Roland. She could not have imagined a better father for their children.

Today was Friday and due to the current circumstances going on, family game night had been put on hold for the time being. Regina and Robin had decided they would try to have a movie night with the five of them in order to give the boys some sense of normalcy. Robin had just left to pick up the boys from school. That left Regina home alone with Genevieve. The newborn was fast asleep in her swing and Regina decided to use this time to check on dinner in the crock pot before taking a nap herself. Robin was going to take the boys for some ice cream to give Regina a little extra time for her nap. Genny had not slept well the night before, waking up several times which left her parents both exhausted. Robin had taken a nap earlier in the day in order to have the energy to pick the boys up and take them for ice cream. Now it was Regina’s turn. She made her way to her and Robin’s bedroom, placing the baby monitor on the nightstand next to her. Sleep pulled her under almost immediately.

When Regina woke up she panicked for a moment when she looked at the alarm clock. She had just slept for two and a half hours. There was no way Genevieve had slept that long. She threw the blankets off of her body and rushed to get out of the bed. As she opened the bedroom door she could hear the boys downstairs with Robin. Henry was talking to his sister and she heard Robin instruct Roland to set the table for dinner. Regina realized the reason she did not wake up when her daughter did was that Robin must have gotten her before she got too upset. She guessed he did it in order for her to get a longer nap. All she could think in that moment was how much she loved that man.

Regina made her way downstairs to find her husband and three children all in the kitchen. “Hello my love.” Robin greeted her when she appeared in the entrance to the kitchen. She made her way over to him, giving him a loving and grateful kiss on the lips. “Genevieve just finished a bottle and dinner will be ready in just a minute.” Robin told her as they pulled away. “Thank you.” Regina replied before placing one more, brief kiss to his lips. She made her way over to greet her children before they all sat down to eat dinner. Henry placed Genevieve in her bouncer seat where she fell asleep almost immediately. Regina took a moment during dinner to look around at her family she had waited so long for. After years of pain, anger, and misery she now had a wonderful husband and three amazing children, all of which she loved with all her heart. She found her mind wandering in this moment to Emma, Hook, and the twins. Regina was incredibly grateful to have all of her children home and healthy, but her heart truly went out to Emma and Hook for what they were going through. A part of her felt guilty that after all of the horrible things she has done, how did she get so lucky to have a healthy daughter while the savior of this town was keeping vigil over her tiny daughters in the NICU. She was pulled out of her thoughts as Robin gave her hand a gentle squeeze. When she saw the look of concern in Robin’s eyes, she gave him a reassuring smile that also contained an unspoken promise that she would explain later.

After dinner, the boys cleaned up while Regina headed upstairs with Genevieve to feed her and put her to bed. She enjoyed this quiet time she got to spend bonding with her little girl. Despite the sleep deprivation and the increased craziness in the house, this little girl also brought even more love and joy into their home. Regina loved being a mom, after all it was becoming Henry’s mom that was the main catalyst to her becoming who she was today, a hero. It still seemed weird to her to think of herself as a hero. Genny’s finished feeding and her eyes were quickly falling closed so Regina placed a kiss to her head and set her down in the crib, quietly making her way out of the room.

Upon arriving in the living room she was greeted by the smell of popcorn and found a spot on the couch next Robin, resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Henry started the movie once his mom got settled. Roland and Henry had chosen to watch Inside Out, they both had been bugging their parents for months to see it, so they were both really excited. Regina and Robin snuggled on the couch, sharing popcorn while they watched the movie. It surprised both parents how much they enjoyed the movie as well, both of them finding themselves laughing out loud a few times. When the movie was over they sent both boys to bed before heading to bed themselves.

“So what were you thinking about at dinner tonight?” Robin asked as they cuddled in bed. Regina tilted her head up from his chest to look up at him. “I was just thinking how grateful I was for our family that we have made.” Regina said with a smile. Her eyes immediately gave her away to Robin, “And what else?” he asked, knowing there was more to this. It drove her nuts sometimes that he could read her like an open book. She had spent years building up walls, not showing her vulnerability to others and Robin tore right through those walls. It was one of the things that made her fall in love with him, but it could also be incredibly frustrating when it was something she did not really want to talk about. Robin never pushed her to talk about it though, he merely would let her know that he was there for her and encourage her to talk to him when she was ready.

“I was just thinking about how grateful I was that Genevieve was here, happy and healthy with us and I couldn’t help think about Emma and Hook. How is it that someone like myself, who did so many horrible things for so many years get to take her healthy daughter home while the so called savior of this town is forced to watch her twins born too soon struggle in the NICU? Part of me feels guilty, like it should be me having to go through all of this as some kind of payment to the universe for all of the horrible things I have done.” Regina finally opened up to him. It killed him that she was feeling like this. He placed a kiss to her hair, collecting his thoughts on the matter before he spoke. “That’s not who you are anymore Regina. These things just happen, there’s no rhyme or reason to them most of the time. No one is being punished here, it something that happened and we may never know exactly why. Don’t think for a minute that you deserve anything less than happiness just because you have a past. I wasn’t exactly a saint either before we met. We all have things that we regret in our past, what matters is that we are not making those mistakes anymore and we are doing what we can to make up for them.” Robin replied, rubbing gentle circles on her back as he spoke. Before Regina could respond they were pulled out of their moment together by the sounds of their daughter’s cries. “I got her. Just think about what I said.” Robin told her before giving her a gentle kiss.

After he left the room, Regina rolled to her other side thinking about what he had just said. Maybe he was right or maybe she just hoped he was right. Either way she knew that she wanted to continue to work to redeem herself for her previous wrongs. If nothing else than to continue to build the trust and relationships she had gained by becoming a hero. Despite how tired she was, she found herself struggling to fall asleep.

A short time later, Robin made his way back into their room. He crawled into bed and scooted over to Regina draping an arm around her waist and placing a kiss to her hair. Regina was still awake so she moved one of her hands to rest over top of Robin’s, interlacing their fingers. “Did you really believe what you said earlier?” she asked after a few minutes spent in silence. “Yes, my love I do. You deserve to be happy and I am going to do everything I can to make sure that you are.” Robin replied. “I love you.” Regina said as she turned her head and body a bit to look at him. “I love you too.” he responded before placing several kisses to her beautiful lips. Unfortunately, Regina was still recovering from giving birth and their kisses could only become so heated before she pulled away not wanting to push Robin too far and not be able to give him what they both wanted right now. They settled back into their previous position, curled up with Regina’s back against his chest as they both fell into a deep slumber.

The next morning Regina woke feeling less tired than she had in a week. Genny thankfully had only woke one more time during the night and she even slept in until 7 o’clock in the morning, allowing Regina and Robin some much needed sleep. Clearly the lack of sleep from the previous night had taken its toll on the newborn as well who normally woke at least 3 times a night and was up by 5 o’clock in the morning. Regina fed Genevieve and changed her diaper before taking downstairs to join the boys for breakfast.

Since it was the weekend, Robin decided to make the boys a big breakfast of pancakes, sausage, bacon, and eggs as they did not have to rush around to get off to school. After breakfast he planned to take Henry to the hospital to see his two other little sisters. The teenager had been to the hospital every day since their birth, wanting to spend equal time with both sets of parents and his new siblings. Hook had sent Robin some new pictures this morning and told him that both girls were doing well and Ansleigh was doing better, but they still had to grow quite a bit before they could go home. Robin and Regina cleaned up breakfast, before he left to take Henry to the hospital giving his wife and two children staying at home kisses before he left. Henry took his turn giving hugs to his younger brother and mom before giving his little sister a gentle pat on the head and a kiss on the cheek.

Regina laid Genevieve down for her morning nap in her swing which they had set up in the living room. She turned on a movie for her and Roland and they played Candyland. It was nice to spend some quiet time with her youngest son. “So how is school going sweetie?” Regina asked, while they talked about their days when they got home from school she wanted to talk to him while she was not trying to get a bunch of other things done. “It’s okay.” Roland replied. “What’s wrong?” Regina questioned, sensing the tone in her son’s voice. “I just want to stay home with you, daddy, and Genny. I miss you guys while I’m at school.” he explained. Regina’s heart broke at his confession. “Oh sweetie, as much as we would love to have you stay home with us, but you have to go to school. That way you can learn as much as you can so you can try to out-smart your older brother.” Regina reasoned with him. “Okay. I guess I’ll go to school, but only so I can be smarter than Henry one day.” Roland replied. Regina leaned over to kiss the mop of curly hair on top of his head. She realized as she did this that the young boy could use a haircut and made a mental note to put it on the list of things to do.

On the way home from the hospital, Robin and Henry stopped to pick up Melody. With everything that had been going on, the two teenagers had not been able to see each other in weeks. Plus, Melody wanted to at least meet one of Henry’s new little sisters. “Hey.” Henry said as Melody got into the car. “Hi. Thank you for picking me up, I can’t wait to meet Genevieve.” Melody replied. “You’re welcome.” Robin replied. Henry and Melody held hands on the way over to the mansion, having missed each other’s company.

They arrived back at the house at the perfect time, Genny had just eaten, had a diaper change, and was awake. Robin greeted Regina and his daughter with a kiss before wrapping an arm around Regina’s shoulder. “Melody, would you like to hold her?” Regina asked. “Yes please. Just let me wash my hands first.” Melody replied. She went into the bathroom that was just down the hall to wash her hands before making her way over to where Regina stood with the newborn in her arms. Regina handed Genevieve to Melody, and watched as her sweet daughter immediately took to the young girl, snuggling closer to her once she was placed in her arms. “She’s adorable.” Melody told them. “Thank you. She seems to be really fond of you already.” Regina replied. “She takes after her big brother that way.” Henry said as he made his way over to her with a beaming smile on his face at the girl he loved holding his little sister. He gave his finger to Genny allowing her to wrap her little fingers around his index finger. “Remember, just because I got to date at this age doesn’t mean you can. Got it little sis. You’re not allowed to date until you’re at least 25, maybe not even then. I also reserve the right to turn away any potential boyfriends if I don’t think they’re good enough for you.” Henry said, his overprotective brother instincts kicking in. Melody just shook her head telling the little girl she held in her arms to ignore her older brother.

Melody stayed for dinner, catching up Henry and the rest of the family on what she had been up to. All the while she held Genevieve, aside from the short periods of time where Regina had to feed her. Melody even changed her diaper with a bit of assistance from Henry. It amazed her how tiny Genevieve was and could only imagine how small that meant Kensington and Ansleigh were. Henry had sent her pictures of his other two little sisters and she could not wait to meet them as well. After helping to clean up dinner, Henry and Melody went into the living room to watch a movie and play board game with Roland. It was a very enjoyable day had by all of them, but what none of them were aware of was the sinister presence that had been lurking nearby.

Morgana had been hiding across the street when Melody arrived at the mayoral mansion. After they had been in the house for some time she thought it safe to approach the home. She did her best to peek in the windows to get a closer look at her prey. Morgana also wanted to get a closer look at one of the women who had been protecting her. She could sense the power radiating from the woman, it was strong. What amazed her though was another magical presence that was almost as strong as her mother. The tiny infant being held in Melody’s arms possessed great powers, that much was clear. This plan may turn out to be more of a challenge that Morgana had originally thought. She snuck around the house until Melody’s parents picked her up, following the family back to their home. She spent the night exploring the property and watching Melody as she slept, continuing to plot her plans for the young girl. A few weeks from now, her prey’s precious little world will be shattered, leaving nothing but pain and misery much like Ariel and Eric had left her with.

While Melody was at the Locksley’s she felt like she was continually being watched but every time she looked around she did not see anything. She knew she should have said something to Regina or Henry, but she did not want to bother Regina since she just had Genny. She was having too much fun getting to know her boyfriend’s baby sister and to see him with her was even sweeter. She knew that she needed to tell her parent’s though since she did not tell Henry’s. Looking up from her school books, she looked over to her mom who was getting something to drink in the kitchen. 

“Mom?,” Melody sounded hesitant which worried Ariel. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Ariel asked looking over to Eric, who was now listening from the living room. “I feel like someone is spying on us and I don’t know where it’s coming from,” Melody said closing her books and moving toward the living room. As she entered the living room she curled up on the couch with her dad. “When did you start feeling like this?” Eric asked her as he pulled her farther into his arms and Ariel sat on the other side of her placing a kiss to her head. “When I was at Henry’s,” she paused not knowing what else to say. “Melody! Why didn’t you say something to Regina or Robin?” Ariel exclaimed. 

Melody did not know what to say to her parents she felt bad not having told Regina when she had the chance, especially since her mom had gotten up from the couch and placed a call to the Locksley house to let Regina know what Melody had just told them. As it was getting late, even though it was a Saturday night, they all headed to bed after Melody gave both of her parents a kiss on the cheek. “Eric, why didn’t she tell anyone sooner?” Ariel asked after laying down in bed next to her husband. Staring up at the ceiling Eric replied, “I don’t know but she needs to stop keeping everything bottled up and opening up to us or Henry, at least.” Ariel sighed, rolling over to snuggle into Eric’s arms, “I know but she is a teenager girl and that’s just the way they are. Hopefully, we can all protect her from Morgana and we can get back to our normal lives.” 

Melody had gone to her room but was reading instead of sleeping when a text from Henry came through.

Henry: Why didn’t you tell us you felt someone watching earlier? You know Mom would have done anything to protect you. You and your parents could have stayed here so we knew you were safe. 

Melody: I knw, thats y I didn’t tell u. Ur mom just had a baby. U dont need anymore ppl in ur house w/ a newborn. I promise, I’m fine. 

Henry: I know. I just worry about you and with Morgana lurking, I worry even more. I’m headed to bed. Goodnight, sweetie. I <3 you! 

Melody: Nite! <3 u 2!


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39 

Emma was released from the hospital two days after the girls were born but she did not want to leave. While Ansleigh was getting better, it still was not enough for her to not need help breathing. Kensington was not gaining weight, which is what they needed her to do in order for her to be able to go home. Emma stayed in the NICU with her girls from the time visiting hours started until they ended. 

Killian kept trying to get her to not stay at the hospital as long. She needed to take care of herself so they could take care of the girls. He was so worried about his girls but he was also worried about his fiance. Emma was not talking as much and was starting to build her walls back up. He did not want to have to get back through them because of this. He was working part-time for now in order for Emma to be able to stay at the hospital with the girls and since they had not found a replacement for him or Emma yet he did not want to leave the station short handed. When he was not at the station he was at the hospital with his girls. 

Robin had brought Henry to the hospital to see his sisters again, but he did not get to stay long and since he was only 15; he was only allowed to go into the NICU once a week but was still going so that he could see his sisters through the window and so that he could see his mom..This did not sit well with him, because he wanted to be able to spend time with Ansleigh and Kensington the same way he was getting to spend time with Genevieve. He kept trying to talk his moms into getting the rules changed for him somehow because he wanted to go more than once a week, but neither of them would go for it. Emma was too tired and distracted with the girls to argue with him over it and Regina knew how he felt and wanted to help him, but she also knew that if he was there he would dwell on them not being at home, safe and happy, when he should be worrying about school. 

Emma was currently sitting in the NICU lost in her thoughts while Kensington was nursing and Ansleigh was sleeping in her crib. Since she was still on a breathing tube Emma was pumping and she was getting breast milk through a feeding tube. Emma just wished she was sitting in their nursery, curled up in the rocking chair nursing both of her girls. She just wanted them to get better so that she could be home with them. She did not know how she was going to feel leaving them at home when she had to go back to work. Would they be okay? Would Killian be able to handle two preemies? Will she be able to continue nursing and pumping so they get the nutrients they need as preemies? Can she find a replacement deputy she trusts as much as Killian? All these thoughts going through her head distracted her and she did not hear her fiance walk up to the rocking chair she was sitting in. 

“Hello, love,” Killian said kissing her on the head, bringing Emma out of her thoughts, “What were you just thinking about?” Emma looked up at him and then back down at Kensington as she unlatched since she was finished eating for the time being. Emma handed Kensington over to her daddy before fixing her top, “Oh nothing,” she answered. Killian did not believe her, but knew that she was not going to actually tell him and he was not going to push her. Killian knew he was eventually going to need to push her to talk about her thoughts, but he was not going to worry about it on his lunch break. “I’m so glad I get to spend my lunch breaks with you and the girls,” he said taking the seat next to Emma as he continued to burp Kensington. “I’m glad you are here too, but if it’s okay I’m going to close my eyes and rest for a bit,” Emma tells him leaning her head back against the rocking chair.

Killian sighed looking over at her, “Of course it’s fine Swan, but tonight your mom is coming to see the girls and you are coming home with me, eating dinner, and cuddling up in bed until tomorrow morning when I go into work.” he told her. Emma did not open her eyes, but Killian could tell that her brain was working though. “Killian,” she sighed, “I can’t leave the girls.” He laid Kensington back in her crib since she was sleeping and moved back over to Emma’s side, taking her hands in his own and moving his hook up to rub against her cheek. The coolness of his hook made Emma shiver and open her eyes to look at the love of her life. For the first time she felt like she was seeing clearly how much of a toll all of this was on him. She could see the lack of sleep in his eyes, along with the worry and unshed tears. Emma could not believe that she had not taken the time to look at him and talk to him about how he was feeling about all of this. Leaning forward she took his face in her hands and placed a kiss to his lips, “I’m sorry,” she whispered not moving very far back from him. He did not know what to say to her in that moment so he gave her one last kiss before he needed to get back to the station. He did not want to leave her and the girls, but he knew that it was necessary for their family. 

Emma spent more time with the girls, talking to them and reading to them out of the storybook. Henry felt that they needed to know the history of their family now instead of later. What Emma really wished was that with the girls having magic that could heal themselves but they didn’t know why but Ansleigh still wasn’t getting better when her diagnosis typical clears up within the first 24 hours of treatment. Ansleigh wasn’t getting worse though either and that made them feel a little better. Emma had talked to Regina about teaching her a healing spell in order for her to heal Ansleigh but Regina would not do it. She explained to Emma that it could do more harm than good and more than likely because of the hormones still going through Emma’s body it her powers may be out of whack and she should not take the chance trying her first spell back on her newborn daughter. She was not happy with it but she understood where Regina was coming from. 

She hated to think about being jealous of Regina and Genevieve. She knows that her having the girls a month early wasn’t planned but it couldn’t have really been prevented either, but she was jealous. She wanted what Regina had right now. She wanted all of her family home, safe and healthy. Emma heard someone come into the NICU and turned to see her mother. “Hey, Mom,” she said not getting up from her spot next to Ansleigh. “Hello, sweetheart. How are my beautiful granddaughters today.” Snow asked before picking a fussing Kensington up out of her crib. Emma stood and gave Ansleigh a kiss on her head before turning toward her mom, “They are okay, but could be better.” Mary Margaret did not like to see her daughter go through this, but knew that in the end it would all be worth it. 

Emma kissed Kensington’s hair before pulling her signature red leather jacket on. “I’m going to head home and make Killian dinner. I’ve been neglecting us a bit too much in this process. The girls are a week old and I feel like I haven’t even talked to my fiance.” Emma told her mother this before giving each girl one more kiss and heading out of the NICU. She did not know what she wanted to do for dinner, but she really was not in the mood to cook when she really thought about it. She just did not have the energy to do so and she hoped that Killian would be okay with Chinese food since that was what Emma was currently craving at the moment. As she walked into their apartment she could not help but feel some tears roll slowly down her cheek since her girls were not there. While she waited on Killian to get home she laid down on the couch and turned on the tv. 

This is how Killian found her a hour later when he got home with Chinese food; he did not want her to have to cook and figured that she would be wanting one of her favorite comfort foods. He thought he was going to have to text her to come home or have her mother send her. He was not expecting to walk into their apartment with his true love curled up on the couch asleep. He sat their dinner on the counter before moving into the living room where he picked up Emma and carried her back to their bedroom. He knew she was not getting much sleep staying at the NICU and she needed to heal too. She was not thinking about herself when it was coming to getting better from her surgery and she needed to. Laying her down on their bed he took off her shoes and pulled up their blanket after he crawled into the bed behind her and curled up with her. 

Emma was confused when she woke up a couple hours later and she was not feeling well. She could feel pressure around her waist and realized that Killian must have come home and carried her into their room. Rolling over without waking him went better than she thought it would. Even asleep she could see the worry on his face and she felt like the stress was making him age more than he had in the last 300 years. She felt so bad that she had neglected him for the last week she just wanted her love back and knew that just because the twins were not here, did not mean they could let their relationship fall to the side. She knew she had started to put walls back up, but she wanted him to know that those walls would not keep them from moving forward in their plans to get married and have a bigger family if her body would allow it. She moved her lips over his face placing light kisses to him all over before reaching up to kiss his lips. He had taken his shirt off before joining her and as she placed that kiss to his lips her fingers could not help but run through the course brown hair that peppered across his chest. 

Killian could feel Emma placing kisses to him and when she finally reached his lips he could not help but respond to her soft full lips on his. He had missed this part of their intimacy. If they could not do anything else for the rest of their relationship he knew he would be content just getting to kiss her. He felt a moan before he heard it and knew they needed to slow this kiss down. After hearing a moan of pain instead of pleasure he moved his lips away from Emma’s, “Swan, are you alright?” He asked stroking her cheek. Letting out a breathe of air Emma answered him, “I will be after I take my meds. They are in my jacket but I can’t take them on an empty stomach.” He saw the pout start to form on her lips and he could not figure out why, “Well, princess, then it’s a good thing I brought Chinese home for dinner even though we are going to have to heat it up. Let’s move out to the living room where we can cuddle and eat at the same time, aye?” Emma looked back into her true love’s eyes and could finally see something other than stress looking back at her. She could see the love he had for her coming back into the blue eyes she loved so much. 

After they finished dinner they decided to stay in the living room to watch a movie before they went to bed. “Love,” Killian said getting her attention, “What are we going to do about protecting our lad and his lass?” Emma was worried about Henry and Melody but her main worry was on her girls since she knew that everyone else was doing everything they could to protect them. “I’m going to worry about our girls,” Emma started as Killian went to interrupt her, “Wait, I’m worried about Henry and Melody, but I can’t be too worried when I know that Regina and everyone else are doing everything they can to protect him. Our girls need me and that is where I’m going to be.” she explained further. Killian stood up from the couch pacing the floor between the kitchen and living room. “Bloody hell Swan!” he exclaimed running his fingers through his hair. He did not know how to tell her all he was feeling and it frustrated him that the rest of them were getting pushed to the side when they all needed her not just the girls. 

“What the hell is wrong with you Hook?” she exclaimed. He cringed hearing Emma use his pirate name and not the name she had been calling him since their first date except for in joking. He could tell from her tone that this time there was nothing to joke about. “My girls need me and that’s where I’m going to be. Regina, Robin, Dad, and all the Merry Men can handle whatever Morgana has planned for now but I’m not helping. I’ve already talked to Henry about it, so get over it.” Emma got up from the couch and started putting her jacket on. As she looked up Killian was standing in front of the door, “You aren’t going anywhere before we discuss this and they aren’t ‘your’ girls! They are OURS! And aye, I’m worried about them just as much as you are but the rest of us need you too!” He had moved away from the door to move closer to Emma but she backed away from him and moved around to the door. “I’m going back to the hospital. I need sometime alone for a bit. We can talk tomorrow,” she opened the door and walked out without another word to him. 

Killian could not believe that their night had turned into such a mess. He was ready to get a solid night sleep with his love by his side, but now he had gone and ruined it. He knew that everyone was on top of what was happening with the Morgana situation and that there was nothing left for Emma to do, but he wanted her to acknowledge that both he and Henry needed her too. He was happy they got a few good hours together but he wanted more. He needed to talk to her about them hiring someone to replace him at the station and they needed someone to fill in for her while she was on maternity leave. He knew neither of these things would be an easy conversation since she did not trust many people in Storybrooke, but he knew it needed to happen. Everyone knew that Emma had the girls early, Elsa had shown up at the station earlier that day to talk to Killian about if he thought it would be okay to go see the girls and Emma at the NICU. He had told he that was fine, but asked her to wait till tomorrow since Emma was coming home tonight. 

Emma could not help the tears that rolled down her face as she made her way back to the hospital and back to her girls. Had she really just argued with her fiance over something small? Why is she building her walls back up? Why does she not want to worry about anything but the girls? Is Henry really okay or is he just telling her that he is? Why can’t she just listen to Killian and spend some time with him and Henry? Why does he always have to be right? Why does it have to be so easy for him to read her? All these thoughts were going through Emma’s head as she rode the elevator up the the NICU. Even though she knew the answer to most of them she did not want to admit it to herself. She was so worried about her girls that she was neglecting her relationships with everyone, especially Killian and Henry. Trying not to think about it anymore she moved into the room. Both of her girls were asleep in their beds and her mom was asleep in the rocking chair between them. Slowly nudging her mom, “Mom, go home. I’m going to stay with them tonight.” Emma said after Snow woke up and looked at her. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you at home with Killian?” Snow asked confused as to why her grown daughter was standing in front of her and not curled up in bed with her fiance. “I messed up Mom,” Emma was crying again, even though she tried her best to stop, “I just want to be here and I don’t really want to talk about it at the moment so I’m going to worry about my girls and try not to think of anything else. Snow hated these walls Emma was building up again. They used to be best friends, then they found out they were mother and daughter, but Emma had finally gotten back to the point of telling her everything and that was now gone again. Mary Margaret decided to get the true story from Killian, if he would tell her.

Snow: Why is Emma here and not with you? 

Hook: We had a fight about her needing to be worried about Henry and me needing her too and she didn’t like it so she ran. I’m going to give her some space but I’m not letting it go. I’m, also, not going to let her build up her walls either. 

Snow: Well it might be a little late for that. Those walls are already sky high from what I would say since I just saw her in the NICU and she forced me to leave and go home. 

Hook: We will fix this. I promise! 

Snow: I know you will. Even True Loves have their disagreements but you two will come through all of this stronger than you were before. 

Killian was so glad he had his future in-laws support when it came to his relationship with Emma. His swan was just too stubborn to admit that this time, he was right. He was going to give her the space she wanted but it was not going to stop him from seeing their girls and trying to get her to understand that what Henry was going through mattered just as much as the girls do. Henry had been worried about how three new sisters were going to affect his relationships with his parents and now with the twins in the NICU his worries were becoming real since Emma was not spending time with him since she did not want to leave the hospital. He had talked to Killian about it, but Hook did not know what to do but try and that is what he did tonight and it just did not work. 

When Emma woke up the next morning in the hospital, she was greeted by the sight of Killian rocking Kensington in a rocking chair he must have moved over near the girls while she slept. She did not know what time he had gotten here, but from the looks of him, he did not get much sleep last night and she felt to blame. She knew that she should apologize, but she was not ready to have that conversation especially while sitting here with their daughters. Looking up from Kensington when she started fussing, Killian’s eyes locked with Emma’s for a split second before looking back down at Kens. “I think she’s hungry, Emma,” he said standing up. He gave Kensington a kiss before passing her off to her mother, “I’m going to head into the station, hopefully David will let me off early today.” Killian moved over and placed a kiss to Ansleigh’s little head before saying, “Good-bye.” Emma called out to him, but he did not listen and just kept walking. He was not in the mood to talk to her and could tell that she did not want to either. He was not ready to listen to anything, but straightening up from last night. As Emma sat their with her girls she thought about the future and wanting the girls home. 

A couple of hours later, Elsa showed up and Emma could not have been happier to see her friend. “Hey, Els,” Emma said with a small smile, “What’s going on? You look like you have something on your mind.” Elsa sat in the seat Killian had abandoned earlier and Emma introduced her to the girls before she spoke, “I went to the station yesterday and asked Hook if it was okay to come talk to you here.” Emma was shocked by this, Killian had not said anything to her, but she did not really give him the chance either. “You could have just texted me to ask Elsa. You know I’ll always be here for you,” Emma said looking away from Ansleigh to her friend. “I wish you felt that way about everyone, Em. I could see it on Hook’s face that he’s not doing good and you don’t look much better so what’s going on? My question can wait.” Elsa was hoping that her friend would open up to her if nobody else. After telling Elsa what had happened the night before, neither one had much to say. Emma realized what a mistake she had made and knew that it needed to be fixed and it needed to be done that day. 

“So what I wanted to ask,” Elsa said breaking the silence, “I heard that Killian was going to be staying home with the girls and was wondering if you could use another deputy who just happens to have magic?” Emma let out a chuckle before saying, “I could use another deputy. You know you will have to work with John for a little bit since he is taking Robin’s place while he is on paternity leave? I was going to keep him on after just so that I could limit my hours after maternity leave. Would you be able to handle that and would he?” Elsa thought about it for a minute before telling her that they had already talked about it and were both okay with it, but that it would be best if they were not put on patrol together just so that they would not be with each other all day long. Emma agreed to the terms and told her she could go see David about get the paperwork done and that she could start tomorrow. She did not tell her that she was going to be ordering her fiance to go on his leave now. 

After Elsa left Emma decided it was time to suck it up and talk to Killian about what had happened. 

Emma: Can you please come to the hospital? 

Killian: What’s wrong? 

Emma: Nothing… I think we just need to talk. 

Killian: I’m not having this conversation there. If you want to talk, we will talk at home whenever you decide you are ready to leave there.

Killian: Well I guess that means you aren’t ready to talk since you aren’t answering me. Let me know if something is wrong with the girls. I’m going to spend time with Henry at Robin and Regina’s. 

Killian: I wish you would talk to me, but guess what I have to say doesn’t matter. 

Emma: WOULD YOU STOP! I was going to text you back! Whale came in; they want to try and take the breathing tube out of Ans. Her latest scans aren’t showing any fluid in her lungs! But I don’t want you here if you are going to act like you are. 

Killian: SHE IS MY DAUGHTER TOO! I will be there soon! 

When Killian got to the hospital and up the the NICU, Emma was nursing Kensington but had tears rolling down her face. Ansleigh was still hooked up and he was glad that he was going to be here for the tube to come out. He wanted to be able to hold his daughter when they were finally allowed. Holding Kensington was great, but Ansleigh had not been held since she was born and they were both ready for that to change. He gave Ans a kiss on her head and still did not say anything to Emma. He did not know what to say. He had never been so upset and disappointed with her before and he did not know how to get over all the emotions he was feeling. Emma had looked up when Killian first came in, but she did not have anything to say to him after their texts. She hated the hormones still coursing through her body because she could not seem to get ahold of her emotions and she hated that he was seeing her this way. 

When Dr. Whale came into the room with a couple of nurses the tension between Emma and Killian had not gotten any better, except he was the one now holding Kensington since she had finished eating. “Okay, we are going to get this tube out of her and we are hoping that since she seems to be breathing over the tube she will be okay,” Whale told them as he moved over to Ansleigh. Emma had stood up and was waiting to see her little girl without the tube. One of the nurses placed a blanket in her arms, “You are going to get to hold her as soon as we are done and hopefully even try to nurse her for this feeding instead of us using the feeding tube.” Emma did not know what to say, she just watched. As Whale pulled the tube out carefully, Ansleigh kept wanting to move and after it was finally out she let out a big cry. The first cry she had let out that her parents got to hear. The tears Emma had gotten to stop started back up all over again, but at least these ones were happy tears. Dr. Whale checked Ansleigh over before picking her up and handed her right to her mommy. 

Emma sat back down in the rocking chair cuddling her oldest daughter. She could not believe she was finally getting to hold her. As she was watching Ansleigh move her little head around she opened the other side of her shirt and Ansleigh latched on like she had been doing it since birth even though she had not. Killian did not know what to say, he was thrilled to know that his daughters were going to be just fine, but he was worried about his relationship now. He continued to rock Kensington as he watched Ansleigh nurse for the first time. When he heard a different nurse approach his chair, “Mr. Jones, we would like to take Kensington to get weighed right now if that’s okay?” He agreed and he handed her over to the nurse. When he looked back at Emma she was watching him, “Want to hold her Jones? I think she’s done and I think she could use some daddy time.” Emma asked. He stood and made his way over to them taking Ansleigh in his arms all the while never taking his eyes away from Emma. As she fixed her shirt she stood up to go check on Kensi’s weight, but as she was moving past him she felt his hook catch her arm, “Love, we have got to talk about this.” Emma just nodded and kept on moving toward her youngest. This was not going to be easy on either of them. The stress had gotten to both of them and they had both said things that they were starting to regret. 

Later that night Emma had gotten her mom to come over and stay with the girls while she headed home. The fact that she did not have to be forced out was a surprise to her mother. When Emma got home she was greeted with the sight of her fiance and her son playing video games so loud they did not even hear her come in the door. She moved to the kitchen and started making herself a hot chocolate when Henry finally acknowledged her. “Hey Mom!” he said coming over to give her a hug, “How are Ans and Kensi?” Emma saw Killian watching them from the couch, but he still had not said anything to her. “They are good. Mary Margaret is with them right now. I thought you would be at Regina’s?” Emma said, really questioning Killian and not Henry. “I thought so too, but Dad came and got me so we could have a ‘guys’ night,” Henry said with more enthusiasm than Emma could even imagine right now. “Guess I should have stayed at the hospital,” Emma mumbled moving toward the master bedroom. She heard Killian tell Henry he would be right back after Henry asked what was wrong with her. She had closed their door not knowing what she wanted in that moment, but when she heard the door open she wanted nothing more than to be wrapped up in Killian’s arms. 

Almost like he could read Emma’s mind his arms were around her. After hugging for a couple of minutes he picked her up and carried her over to their bed where he sat her on his lap. “Love, I’m so sorry for the way I acted earlier. I know this has been stressful on both of us and I took mine out on you,” Killian said placing a kiss to the side of her head. Placing her face in the nook of her neck, breathing him in, before placing an opened mouth kiss to his pulse point that she did not stop kissing until she got what she was hoping for. “Emma,” Killian moaned as she continued kissing him until she got to his lips, “We need to stop, love. You can’t do anything and we need to talk about this.” Emma sighed moving her head back to his shoulder. She knew that they needed to talk but she also knew that even though they could keep it civil, it was not something she wanted Henry to hear or see, “I think Henry needs to be back at Regina and Robin’s before we have this conversation so let’s go spend time with our oldest and when he goes to school tomorrow we will talk about all of this,” Emma tells him getting off of his lap. “Aye, Swan,” Killian pulled her into a deep kiss before leading them both out to the living room. For the rest of the night they spent time playing games with Henry and eating pizza. Emma texted back and forth with her mom up until she and Killian wrapped themselves in each other’s arms and went to bed for the night.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40 

Genevieve was now 3 weeks old and she was growing like crazy. She lost a bit of weight when she first came home from the hospital, but this was normal and after multiple assurances from Whale, Regina and Robin relaxed a bit. They were finally falling into a routine that seemed to be working and kept everyone in one piece. Robin was getting ready to return to work on Monday. He had hoped to take another week, but with the sheriff’s office being short staffed with the unexpected departure of Emma due to the twins’ early birth and two new deputies, he knew that he was needed there. Not to mention he wanted to give Hook the option to spend a bit more time away from the office to be with his fiance and two new daughters. As reality set in that he would not be spending the bulk of his day with his wife and daughter anymore, he was trying to get as much time in with them as possible. Regina was still planning on taking at least another 3 weeks off and possibly more depending on how she was feeling.

All three boys in the house were already completely wrapped around Genny’s little finger. Regina worried this may become an issue as she got older, but for now it just melted her heart. They all were amazing with her and she appreciated how much help they all were. She was slowly starting to transition Genevieve over to formula to make it easier when she returned to work. It was making it a bit easier on her as well, now that even more of the feedings could be done by other people. For the most part she still only let Robin or Henry feed her with some assistance from Roland at times. The only other person who had fed her to this point was a very insistent Snow when she visited the last time. In all honesty as annoying as her persistence was, it was relief to not always be worrying about feeding or pumping and be able to hand off her daughter to someone else when it was time for a feeding.

This had also given Regina the opportunity to visit Emma and the twins in the NICU. She had not been out of the house much since Genny had been born and it was nice to get out if only for a few hours and under some not so great circumstances. Now that Ansleigh was no longer intubated she was able to hold both girls and bond with children who are technically her step great-granddaughters. She and Emma shared polite conversation and discussed their daughters as well as Henry. Emma wanted to catch up on how Henry was doing with all of this, especially since she was feeling guilty about how little time she was spending with him. Regina assured her that he was doing good, he had his moments where he would be upset and mope around a bit, but overall he was handling everything in typical Henry fashion. Once she left Emma and the twins, she headed to Granny’s to meet Robin and Genevieve for lunch.  
This was the first time Genny would be out in the town and Regina had a feeling it might be a bit overwhelming. When she arrived, Robin was not there yet so she found a table and ordered them both waters while she waited for him. It was still rather quiet and the only people in the diner at the moment were Granny, Ruby, and Grumpy. A few minutes later Robin entered with their daughter cradled in his arms. He made his way over to his wife, greeting her with a kiss before handing Genevieve to her mother. The little girl was fast asleep and only momentarily stirred as she was passed from the arms of one parent to the other. “So, how are Emma and the twins doing?” Robin asked as he took a seat across from Regina. “They are doing well. Still not big enough to go home, but much better than when they were first born. I finally got to hold Ansleigh as well today.” she replied. Robin nodded before smiling at his wife and daughter as Regina stared down at her.  
Their quiet family moment was disturbed when Granny and Ruby both made their way over to the table. “We wanted to come meet one of the newest royals in town.” Ruby said as excitedly as she could while still keeping her voice quiet, trying on to wake the sleeping baby. “She is precious. Congratulations to you both.” Granny said, smiling at Regina and Robin. “I’ll be back to take your orders in a minute. Just make sure I hold that little one before you guys leave.” Ruby told the pair. She followed Granny back towards the counter leaving them in peace again.

The peace did not last long as many Storybrooke residents made their way to Granny’s for lunch. Many of them just coming to get a closer look at Genny and congratulate the couple, but some of the residents who were closer with Robin and Regina such as Belle, Little John, and Will spent more time and requested to hold her. Regina handed the still sleeping baby to Belle first who rocked gently back and forth as she admired the sweet little girl she held in her arms. “How are you two doing?” Little John asked as he waited his turn to hold the baby. “Tired, but she’s completely worth it.” Robin replied. Belle begrudgingly handed Genevieve to Little John as Ruby brought out Regina and Robin’s food. “By the way, Regina, you look amazing. Are you sure you just had a baby?” Ruby complimented her as she set down their food. “Thanks Ruby.” she replied, being echoed closely by Robin thanking her for their food. Little John passed Genny over to Will who was probably one of the last people most would expect to see with a baby. He actually was a natural at it. The young royal had just started to open her eyes, but remained content as Will spoke to her quietly and rocked her. The group chatted as everyone ate once Ruby brought out food for the rest of the group. Genevieve made it till they were almost done eating before she began to fuss, letting them know that she was hungry.

Before Regina had a chance to start feeding her, Ruby made her way over to the table. “Would you mind if I fed her while I’m on my break?” she asked. Regina motioned to Will to hand the baby to Ruby before she grabbed a bottle from the diaper bag and handed it to her. Genevieve immediately calmed down when Ruby began to feed her. Regina watched in amazement of all the people in this town who she had grown to know and like enough to trust them to hold and feed her child. When Henry was little people would greet her and take a moment to get a closer look at Henry, but few people other than occasionally Snow or Granny interacted with Henry. Most seemed to scared to approach her as if she might turn them into ash if they spent more than a minute or two with Henry. It was a welcome change that had only taken a little over 30 years.

Once Ruby finished feeding Genevieve and Robin paid for their food the pair headed out. Robin took the carrier out of the stroller since he and Genny had walked to the diner to meet Regina for lunch. He clicked it into the base in the car to allow Regina to put their daughter into her car seat as he put the stroller into the trunk of her car. They wanted to get home before the boys got home from school so they could get some stuff done around the house.  
An hour later when school let out, Henry and Melody missed the bus because they were trying to squeeze in a few minutes alone. It was difficult to sneak a kiss in with multiple sets of parents watching them like hawks any time they were together. By the time they made it outside the bus was already gone, so they decided to walk to Henry’s house together. He texted both Robin and Regina to let them know what was going on. Unfortunately, they both had left their phones in the kitchen while they were doing work around the house. Neither of them saw the text message or the ones that followed until it was almost too late.

When Roland walked in the front door, Regina expected to see Henry walk in behind him. Instead Roland closed the door behind him and Regina gave him a concerned look. “Hi sweetheart. Where’s your brother?” she asked, trying not worry her younger son. “I don’t know. He wasn’t on the bus.” Roland replied, hanging his backpack up before pulling out his homework to start working on it. “Did he tell you he was planning on missing the bus?” she questioned him further. “No, he just wasn’t there.” Roland replied as he began to work on his homework. “Robin!” Regina called out the back door. Robin had been in the backyard getting some yard work done. “What? What is it?” he asked as he entered the house. “Henry missed the bus and Roland hasn’t seen him.” Regina explained. “I’m sure he’s fine. He probably just decided to walk home since he missed the bus. Did you check to see if he texted you?” Robin said trying to reassure her. Regina quickly made her way to the counter where her phone was. She opened her messages as Robin read over her shoulder.  
Henry: Hey mom! Melody and I missed the bus, so we are going to walk home together. I promise we will be careful. See you in a little bit.  
Another text followed about 10 minutes later that made both parents blood run cold.  
Henry: Mom 911, Morgana is after us. We’re hiding in the alley by Granny’s. I love you.  
Before Robin could say anything, Regina disappeared in a puff of smoke. His initial instinct was to go after her, but then reality set in. Roland was sitting at the kitchen table doing his homework and Genny was upstairs taking a nap. Neither of them could be left alone. He grabbed his phone which was sitting next to Regina’s on the counter to call Charming. When he picked up, Robin gave him the cliff notes version of what he knew and asked him to get over to the alley right away.

As he hung up the phone Regina reappeared in the kitchen, this time with Henry and Melody in tow. Henry appeared unharmed, but the look of horror on his face told Robin that all was not fine. Melody collapsed in Henry’s arms almost as soon as they arrived, as she did, Robin saw the head wound. Regina was immediately at the young girl’s side and began healing her wound. Melody slowly regained consciousness as her injury began to fade. When Regina finished, all that was left was what looked like a wound that had completely healed and was just beginning to form a scar. Henry pulled her into a hug which she immediately reciprocated.

This was the first time in months that Regina used her magic for more than little things here and there. Healing a wound of that size and severity left her completely drained. Robin could see the look of fatigue on her face well beyond anything he had seen as a result of her current sleep deprivation. He kneeled down next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist before helping her to stand. It took Regina a few moments to get her footing before Robin relaxed his grip on her waist, but not completely letting her go out of fear that she still might collapse.

“Are you okay?” Robin asked. “I’ll be fine. I just haven’t use much magic lately, so it took a bit more out of me than usual.” Regina replied as she dropped her head to his shoulder. The world around her was spinning a bit and her legs still felt rather wobbly. “Why don’t we all go in the living room and you guys can fill me in on what happened?” Robin requested. All three nodded as they headed in the direction of the living room. Regina walked on her own with a little added support from Robin. She was grateful he could provide this discreetly so as not to worry the kids.

Henry and Melody flopped onto the couch both exhausted from their ordeal. Regina sat down next to Henry and despite also being exhausted was a bit more graceful thanks to Robin continuing to provide her some support before taking a seat next to her. “So, we were walking home and the streets were pretty crowded so we figured we would be safe. As we got closer to Granny’s, no one was really around and that’s when we saw her. I grabbed Melody and hid in the alley, then I texted mom. I didn’t want to call in case she would hear me talking. We were hiding for a few minutes when she found us. At the same time, mom appeared, but it was too late. Morgana was already using her powers to send Melody flying backwards and hit her head on the corner of a dumpster. Mom threw a fireball at her, but she disappeared before it hit her.” Henry explained shakily, as he held Melody’s hand. Melody did not say anything as she was clearly still shaken up by what just happened. Robin’s hand was resting on Regina’s thigh and he gave it a gentle squeeze, knowing that Henry saying they were waiting for her for a few minutes likely made her feel incredibly guilty that she did not have her phone on her and did not get to them sooner. He also knew there was an incredible amount of fear she was dealing with at the moment. Until now, Morgana had been relatively quiet and now Melody was in even more danger and clearly this left Henry at risk as well. The events of the day had proven that. She gave him a weak smile before speaking, “So this means we are going to have to step up our efforts to keep you safe. From now on someone will drop both of you off at school and pick you guys up. Neither of you are to be left home or anywhere alone for that matter. I’m going to step up my research into what we can do about Morgana. Robin can get the sheriff’s office to step up their efforts to find Morgana and where she has been hiding out. We’re going to keep you safe Melody.” she explained, not entirely believing her words either. “Why don’t you both go get started on your homework while we call your parents Melody. They need to know about what happened.” Robin said. The two teenagers got up from the couch and headed into the kitchen to start working on homework.

“Hey, come here.” Robin said as Regina began to get up from the couch as well. “What?” she said in an exhausted and slightly annoyed tone. “You cannot blame yourself for this. They’re both okay and we are going to keep it that way.” Robin told her as he pulled her into his arms. “How can you say that? We failed them both. We didn’t have our phones on us and they were left scared and alone trying to hide from someone they have no way to protect themselves from.” she whispered as her head came to rest against his shoulder. “What matters is that in the end we did get to them in time. I have an idea. Those potions that you made mimic your powers when we were facing Jafar, I know you still have several left in your vault. Why don’t you give a few to Henry and Melody so they have magical options to protect themselves if needed?” Robin recommended. “That’s actually a really good idea. I’ll go grab them before Melody leaves.” Regina replied. “Why don’t you stay here and relax a bit, then call Melody’s parents? I can go to your vault and pick up the potions.” Robin requested, he knew the effects of using that much magic was still taking its toll on her. She nodded her head in agreement. He gave her a gentle kiss before heading out to her vault.

While Robin was gone, Regina made the call to Melody’s parents. She did everything she could to reassure them that Melody was completely fine and that they had some new ideas to ensure her safety. They decided to come over to the mansion to discuss things with Regina and Robin as well as pick up their daughter. Regina decided to pass the time until Genevieve woke up from her afternoon nap to do a bit of research. She felt like she was finally onto something, just as her daughter was waking up. Marking her page, she made her way to Genny and took care of her. Melody and Henry finished their homework and asked if Regina wanted help taking care of Genevieve which she gladly accepted. It gave her more time to research. Moments before the doorbell rang to announce the arrival of Melody’s parents, Regina found what she believed would be the key to defeating Morgana. She still had a lot more research to do, but at least she could tell Ariel and Eric that she had a legitimate lead.

Henry let the Christensen’s in, having taken Genny from Melody so her parents could give her a hug. Regina was headed out of her study, just as the terrified parents were pulling their daughter into a hug. She greeted them in the foyer as they were hugging their daughter tight. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Ariel asked as she pulled her daughter in tight. “I’m fine mom, I promise.” Melody replied. When they released their daughter, Eric took a closer look at the pale pink mark that remained on her forehead. Despite Regina healing her, the wound could not be healed completely. Magic can only do so much. She led everyone into the living room to allow Melody to fill them in on what had happened, let them know of their new precautions to keep the kids safe, and explain that she may have found a way to defeat Morgana.

As Melody was finishing up explaining what had happened to her parents, Robin returned home and joined them in the living room. He found Melody seated on the couch in between her parents with Regina and Henry seated on the love seat. Genevieve was asleep in her big brother’s arms, snuggled up against his chest. Robin perched himself on the arm of the love seat next to Regina. “Thank you, for saving our daughter.” Ariel said, looking directly at Regina. “Of course.” she replied. Regina still did not feel like she deserved to be thanked, if she had gotten there sooner, the injury to Melody may have been avoided all together.

Robin then took his turn to explain their new plans to keep Henry and Melody safe. When Melody’s parents agreed, Robin handed Melody several potion bottles all of which Regina explained the use of. Then it was her turn to explain what she found. “So I believe I have found a way to rid ourselves of this sea witch for good. It involves a potion to bind her powers, but I still have to research some of the more odd ingredients. Once I collect all the ingredients it seems like the potion will only take about a day to make. Hopefully this means we will only have to worry about her for a little while longer.” she told the group. “Thank goodness. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” Ariel said. She just wanted her daughter to be safe again, just like any parent would. After a bit more discussion about specific plans to keep everyone safe as well as Ariel holding Genny for the first time, Melody and her parents headed home.

Regina ate dinner with everyone and put Genny to bed while Robin gave Roland a bath and put him to bed as well. When she finally got their daughter to sleep, she made her way back to her study to continue her research. Robin chose to leave her alone to do her research, he knew she wanted to focus and to be honest he did not know much about potions. He laid on the couch and watched TV, waiting for her to go to bed with him.

About an hour later, Regina emerged from her study. She appeared in the living room with a smile on her face, but there was a hint of concern in her eyes. “Did you figure it out?” he asked. “I did, but it may not be as easy as I had hoped. One of the ingredients can only be found in one place.” Regina told him as she took as seat next to him on the edge of the couch. “Where is that?” he questioned, not sure where she was going with this. She hesitated for a moment before responding, “The Enchanted Forest.”


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41 

The next day Regina called everyone to meet at the mansion later that afternoon. She had a few ideas about how to get back to the Enchanted Forest, but to be honest she did not think any of them would work. Robin had tried to help the night before and was unable to come up with any better ideas. They decided to sleep on it in hopes of coming up with a better plan, but as Regina sat at her desk in the study trying to finish up a few last minute things before everyone would arrive in 10 minutes, she was not having any luck. She had spent most of the day in the study trying to come up with a plan on how to get back to the Enchanted Forest. The only time she really left her study was to take care of Genevieve when Robin had run to the store. It was times like this where she was thankful that for the most part Genny was a very easy and content baby. Her daughter sat quietly in her bouncer after Regina fed her and soon began to fall asleep. Before she fell asleep completely, Regina moved her up to her room to change her diaper and rock her to sleep for her afternoon nap. She gently placed Genevieve in her crib before sneaking out of the room.  
Regina returned to her study with the baby monitor in hand to keep an eye on the infant. About an hour later she was brought out of her thoughts as Robin entered the study. “How’s it going?” he asked. “Frustrating.” she replied. “Come on, you need to take a break before everyone gets here.” he told her as he took her hands to pull her up from her chair. When she reached her feet, he pulled her into a kiss. After trading a few kisses Robin whispered against her lips, “Well I may have had my own selfish reasons for wanting you to take a bit of a break. I missed my wife today”. She replied with an almost inaudible “Sorry.” before pulling him into several more heated kisses. They were brought out of their little makeout session by a knock on the door. “No need to apologize mi’lady. You’re trying to keep one of our children and a girl he cares deeply about safe.” he told her before he made his way to the door.

When he opened the door, Henry was standing there with his sister in his arms as she was beginning to fuss. “Come on little one, let’s get you a bottle.” he told her as Henry handed Genny to him. “I’ll be up in my room working on homework if you need me.” Henry told his parents. Regina followed her husband to the kitchen and began to prepare a bottle for their daughter. She was down to nursing her daughter only three times and they were transitioning her to formula for the rest of her feedings. Regina handed the bottle to Robin as soon as it was ready, just as their daughter began to wail. She kissed Genevieve’s forehead as she rapidly drank her bottle. “Apparently somebody was really hungry.” Robin said. “Apparently” Regina replied as she made her way out of the kitchen to get a few things out of her study before everyone arrived.

The first people to show up were the Charmings and Hook. They had all been at the hospital prior to the meeting and drove together. Emma stayed at the hospital, still hesitant to leave the girls alone. Snow immediately requested to hold Genevieve who had just finished her bottle. Belle was soon to follow as she had been assisting Regina to research the ingredients for the potion. Regina had invited Elsa and Tink over as well. She felt that they needed as many people as possible with magic on their side to help protect the children. The two blondes arrived a few minutes apart. They were only waiting on Ariel and Eric. Regina and Robin agreed that this was their child at risk and they deserved to be a part of the discussion. When they finally arrived with Melody, they were able to start the meeting.

The group settled into the living room, Snow, Charming, Hook, and Elsa all squished onto the couch while Belle, Tink, and Ariel squeezed onto the love seat with Eric perched on the arm of it. Regina sat in the arm chair that was in the corner between the couch and the love seat with Robin standing next to the chair. “Okay, so I found a potion last night that we can use to bind Morgana’s powers. After that we can do whatever else we see fit to contain her. Unfortunately this potion is not going to be as easy to put together as I had originally hoped. Most of the ingredients needed I have in my own personal stock of supplies. However, there is one item that cannot be found in this realm.” Regina explained. “So what realm do we have to get to this time?” Hook asked the question on everyone’s mind. “We need to return to the Enchanted Forest.” Robin responded. “So far I have not been able to determine a plausible way for us to return and obtain the ingredient we need.” Regina admitted. She hated to have anyone know that she was failing at something, but she hoped that someone would have an idea. Thankfully, somebody did. “I have a few extra magic beans we could use. My supply is limited, but I would have enough to send some people there and also provide them a bean to use to return.” Elsa spoke up.

“That will work. Now the question is… Who goes?” Belle asked. The group was silent for several moments. “I should go. I know what I am looking for. I can find it quickly and get back here.” Regina stepped up. “Regina you can’t. Genevieve needs you. I’ll go instead.” Robin responds. “Absolutely not! We have no idea what the Enchanted Forest is like now with us being gone for so long. Someone with magic needs to go. Especially if something goes wrong with the magic beans and we need to figure out an alternate plan to get back. Emma is obviously out of the question. That leaves myself, Elsa, and Tink. Some of us have to stay behind as well to protect Melody and Henry. I can go and be back in two days or less. If it makes you feel better, I can take Charming for back up.” Regina replied.

She was not going to let Robin leave. If something went wrong in the Enchanted Forest and she lost him, she did not think she would survive it. Regina had already lost one love, she was not going to lose another. If Robin was going, then so was she. She was the only person she trusted to protect him. Regina was brought out of her thoughts by Hook speaking, “I have to agree with Robin, the best person to go is him. Elsa can go with him, that way someone with magic is going. Plus, Robin’s tracking skills can come in handy for finding the ingredient”. Regina shot a glare his way. “Tink can stay with you and help with Genny and the boys. This way you have an extra set of hands to help out around here. We both know Genevieve is not ready to be without her mother. As much as I don’t want to leave you guys, I can handle this. Like you said, it will take two days tops and we can be back. Elsa has magic so if something goes wrong, I have magical backup. It’s the best option we have.” Robin tried to convince Regina. “I agree with Robin. Your daughter needs you both, but there are certain things that only a mother can provide at this point in her life. As Morgana has escalated and directly attacked Melody, this is a time sensitive issue. Whoever ends up going needs to leave as soon as possible. I wish none of us had to go, but our best option is to send Robin and Elsa.” Snow spoke up. The rest of the group nodded in agreement after Robin and Snow spoke. Everyone except Regina.

“Come with me. Everyone please excuse us for a moment, we will be right back.” Robin told the group as he took Regina’s hand. They left everyone in the living room and headed for the study. Robin lead her into the room and gently closed the door behind them. “Sweetheart, you know this is our best option. I don’t want to leave you or our children, but it is only temporary. I can’t promise that nothing bad can happen, but I will do everything I can to come back to all of you.” Robin said as he turned to face her. She just stood there for several moments staring at him. “I know.” Regina finally spoke up. Robin was bewildered by her sudden agreement with this plan. “I’m just worried. I can’t lose you. I’ve had my heart broken in that way too many times before and I don’t think I can survive it again.” Regina continued. He was not sure how to respond to her so he hugged her as tightly as he could, planting gentle kisses in her hair. “I feel the same way about you. I love you.” Robin replied in between kisses. “I love you too.” she responded. They spent a few minutes just holding each other before heading back to the rest of the group.

Regina held tightly onto Robin’s hand as they entered the room. “Okay.” was all she said to the group. They all nodded, accepting that Regina now agreed with their plan. “So what exactly is this ingredient we need to be looking for?” Elsa asked. “It’s called a crimson crown. It looks like a mushroom, but its bright red and white. I have a picture of it as well, that they can use to help identify it. There are a few areas of the Enchanted Forest where it grows in large open areas. There is not much of it, but I can give you a few places to look.” Regina explained to the group.

“When?” Charming asked. “In a week? That should give us enough time to get everything together and properly prepare for the journey.” Robin proposed his plan. “That works for me as well.” Elsa chimed in. “So a week. Then I say we wrap this meeting up and start preparing. The rest of us will focus on keeping Henry and Melody safe. They both are carrying around potions now that I had leftover from our face off with Jafar. That should allow them to better protect themselves if they ever come up against Morgana again. The rest of us just need to keep a closer eye on them and look out for Morgana.” Regina told the group. Everyone clearly agreed as they all began to say their goodbyes and make their way to the front door.

Emma: Mom, what’s the plan? 

Snow: We are going to get dinner at Granny’s. Want us to bring you something? 

Emma: Seriously? I want to know what’s going on to protect my son. 

Snow: So grilled cheese and onion rings… Killian will tell you when he sees you. 

Emma: UGH!!! Yes, I’ll take food and why can’t you just tell me. 

Not long after sending her last text Emma heard the door to the NICU open and close while she was nursing Kensington. Since she was not expecting it to be Killian any time soon, she did not look up at least not until she heard the seat next to her pull closer. Looking over and seeing him, she did not have anything to say in the moment. “Your food is out the door. We can go talk about the meeting after you are done with Kens. The nurse told me you already fed Ansleigh. Emma nodded her head not looking up from Kensington. She was feeling a little self conscious. They had their talk but they still were not where they needed to be and it was affecting how she was feeling with him watching her nurse. After she finished she handed Kensi off to Hook and got her shirt straightened back up while he burped her, both of them leaving the NICU after Kensington fell back to sleep. Killian told her about the meeting while she ate, but she did not say anything until they had been sitting there awhile. “It should be Regina and I going. Henry is our son and we should be able to protect him,” Emma said surprising Hook. “No, you and Regina need to stay with your daughters. Robin and Elsa can handle this. The girls and I can’t lose you and neither can Henry,” Killian told her. Emma did not say anything else. She got up from the table cleaned up her dinner and went back to the NICU without another word to Killian. 

When everyone had finally left the mansion, it left Regina and Robin standing alone in the foyer. Melody had left with her parents and after bidding her goodbye, Henry had returned to his room. Genny was asleep in her bouncer seat after being passed around by the guests during the meeting. “What do we tell the kids?” Regina asked. “The truth. That I’m going on a mission that will help us save Melody and I’ll be back in a few days. And of course that I love them.” Robin told her. Regina gave him a concerned look, still not entirely sure about this plan. “I’m going to be fine. Stop worrying.” he told her before kissing her forehead and resting his hands on her hips. “I will stop worrying when you and the ice queen return home safe and sound.” she replied. She gave him an affectionate kiss before pulling out of his embrace. “Come on, if we don’t get started on dinner soon we are going to have some very hungry boys on our hands.” Regina told him.

When they finally got all of the children settled in bed a few hours later, Regina and Robin were snuggled together in bed. Her head was resting on his chest as she mindlessly rubbed circles on his chest. “I’m going to miss you.” Regina whispered. “I’m going to miss you too. I won’t be gone long though and I promise to get back to you as soon as possible. How could I stay away, when I have the most beautiful and amazing woman to ever grace any realm with her presence waiting for my return?” Robin replied kissing the top of her head and wrapping the arm he had around her a bit tighter. As he pulled her tighter, Regina wrapped her arm across his chest, trying to stay as close as possible to her husband. They fell asleep in this position and remained that way until Genny woke them up a few hours later.

The next few days passed by all too quickly for Regina’s liking. It was only three days until Robin and Elsa would depart for the Enchanted Forest. While she had agreed with the plan, she was still trying to find a way to prevent Robin from having to go. She could not explain it, but she had this feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was not right. Regina tried to write it off as worry about him leaving, but there was something else she could not quite put her finger on what was putting her even more on edge. She was at her vault finishing up making another round of the potions they used against Jafar. The plan was to give them to Robin, so that if he were separated from Elsa for any reason, he had magical means by which to protect himself. Regina was trying to think of every possible thing that could go wrong. She was narrowing down the location of the crimson crowns in order to try and expedite their mission. Anything she could find to bring Robin home sooner, made her feel a bit better.

Robin had stayed home with Roland to play games while Genevieve napped and Henry was visiting his other sisters at the hospital. He wanted to spend some one on one time with each kid before he left. While he was only supposed to be gone for two days and they had come up with a very good plan, this mission was still not without risks. Robin wanted to enjoy the time he had with each of them in case something went wrong and he was gone longer than expected or worse yet, he did not return at all. He had plans to go to dinner with just Henry that night and talk to him. Robin wanted to spend as much time as he could with Regina as well, but he felt like she was pulling away from him. It was like she was putting up some of her walls again. Walls that he had not seen in a long time and had spent some time breaking through when they first met. “Daddy!” Roland shouted, trying to get his attention. “Sorry buddy. Is it my turn?” Robin responded. His son nodded yes and he picked a card to continue their game of Candyland. As usual he was losing to his son. No matter how many times they played, he never seemed to be able to win against him.

Regina picked Henry up from the hospital on her way home after bottling up the potions and bringing them home with her. “So how are Ansleigh and Kensington?” she asked when he got in the car. “Doing better, they should both be coming home soon.” he replied. “That’s great.” Regina replied, before putting the car in drive and heading for home.

When they arrived home, she started dinner for her and Roland as well as prepped a bottle for Genny. Her daughter should be waking up in a few minutes and she planned to feed her while dinner finished cooking in the oven. “Hey. I’m getting ready to head to Granny’s with Henry. Do you want us to bring you anything back?” Robin said as he placed his hands on her shoulders and began gently rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “No, I have some ice cream in the freezer for Roland and I to eat later.” she replied. He kissed her neck a few times, figuring she would respond as she typically did in this situation by turning around to kiss him on the lips. Instead, she continued to work on dinner. “Is everything okay?” he asked. “Of course it is.” she replied immediately, as if it was a rehearsed response. “Alright. I love you, I’ll see you when we get home.” Robin said. “Love you too.” she responded quickly and without the usual feeling behind her words. He was worried about her, but knew that Henry was looking forward to dinner at Granny’s and did not want to disappointment their son. Robin chose to kiss her cheek and make a mental note to talk to her more about it later.

Robin and Henry found a booth at Granny’s as soon as they arrived and ordered their favorites. The two settled into a conversations about his twin sisters, Melody, and school before Robin got to what he really wanted to speak with Henry about. “So Henry, while I’m gone. I want you to promise me something. I know you’re still a kid, but your mom is really going to need you while I’m gone. Tink is going to be there to help with your brother and sister, but your mom needs your help as well. You know your mom better than anyone and she is going to need you by her side. Promise me that when she’s feeling scared or worried or any other number of emotions she’s probably going to go through while I’m gone, that you will help her through it. I know this is a lot to ask, but you two have this special bond that makes you the only one qualified to take on this task. And if the worst happens to me, I need you to promise to help her through it. Obviously, I still want you to help with Genevieve and Roland, but I hope you are on board with doing this extra thing for me.” Robin explained. “Of course I will. I always have and always will look out for my mom. Just like she has done for me my whole life. You are going to be fine and you’ll be right back here with us. Promise me that when you get back we can continue my bow and arrow lessons.” Henry replied. “Thank you Henry and I promise.” Robin replied before going back to less serious conversations.

When they arrived home, Roland and Genny were already asleep. “Hey, how was dinner?” Regina asked, although the question appeared to be mostly directed at Henry. “Good, we had fun. Plus, dad took me for ice cream afterward.” Henry replied. “I’m glad you had a good time, but it’s time for bed my little prince. Goodnight, I love you.” Regina told him as she kissed him on the forehead. “I love you mom and dad. Goodnight.” Henry said before heading up the stairs. “Goodnight.” Robin said to Henry as he made his way up the stairs.

Now that they were alone, Robin wanted to talk to Regina about the distance he was beginning to feel between them. “Hey, can we talk?” he asked. “About?” Regina responded, acting completely unaware that anything was amiss between them. Robin gently placed a hand on Regina’s lower back, leading her to the couch in the living room.

“So for the last few days, I feel like things have been a bit cold and distant between us. I know you are not exactly pleased about me leaving, but I never wanted you to start putting back up your walls in front of me. I hate feeling disconnected from you and I want to fix whatever is going on between us. I don’t want to leave and have something going on between us.” Robin explained, looking directly at her. As he spoke, Regina began to lower her head a bit, no longer looking him in the eyes.

She was trying to protect herself from being heartbroken again. If she was being honest with herself, the last few days had left her miserable. She missed her husband, but she did not know how to bring it up to him once the distance had already settled between them. “I just don’t want to get hurt again. I’ve lost love before and the thought of possibly going through it again is paralyzing. I loved Daniel, I think a part of me always will and I lost him. I never knew I could love someone more than I loved Daniel and then I met you. If I lost you it would be so much worse than when I lost Daniel because I am so much more in love with you, which I did not know was even possible until you opened me up to it. I closed myself off for so long to try to protect my heart. Now, there is this possibility that something horrible could happen to you and I could lose you forever. So, I started to close myself off so maybe it won’t hurt as much if the worst happens.” Regina explained as a steady stream of tears flowed down her face. Robin wiped the tears from her cheeks before wiping the tears that had fallen from his eyes as well.

“First things first, I love you so much. Second, I wish I could promise you that nothing bad can happen during this mission, but we both know I’d be lying. So, let’s enjoy the time we do have together because I can promise you that you will regret it so much more if things aren’t right between us and something does happen. Okay?” Robin told her. Regina continued to feel the tears falling down her cheeks, but she was able to muster up an okay to respond to him. At her response, Robin immediately pulled her into his arms. She immediately melted into his arms and began to cry harder. He just held her as she cried, whispering words of love and adoration into her ear and placing gentle kisses to her hair and temple.

Robin was not sure how long they stayed like this, but eventually she began to fall asleep in his arms likely from the exhaustion from crying for so long. As gently as he could, Robin picked her up in his arms and carried her to their room. Once he placed her in their bed, he crawled in next to her and pulled her close. He wanted her to wake up with him right there, to let her know she was not alone in this moment.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42 

When Emma and Killian finally had their talk it did not go the way that either of them thought. Emma was able to convince Killian to finally stop working at the station even though he felt he should stay on for a bit longer, at least until the girls came home, but he didn’t win that battle. Emma was glad to have her fiance by her side but at the same time they still were not handling things as a team. Emma kept wanting to handle everything with the girls without consulting Killian and it was not going over well with him. He wanted to have an opinion when it came to the girls, but since Hook was not from this world Emma felt she could make all of the decisions on her own without having to explain things to Killian and he could not take it anymore. He finally confronted Emma after they got home one night. “Can we talk?” Killian asked as Emma cleaned up the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. “Sure,” Emma said not completely sure of what could be wrong. “We need to talk about the girls,” he said sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs. “What about the girls? They are doing fine, and their weight is going up. Kensington should be able to come home at some point this week if she keeps her weight up and doesn’t drop any levels.” Emma says sitting down across from him with a snack and her breast pump. Even though she was nursing the girls during the day she had to continue pumping at home to keep up her supply. 

“That’s exactly it,” Killian said getting frustrated, “I may be in the NICU with you and the girls, but you don’t let me do anything and nothing gets explained to me. They are my girls too and I feel like you don’t trust me to stay at home with them.” Hook was not happy with how things were going and he feared this conversation would not go well. “I don’t know how I feel. All I know is that seeing those two little girls in the hospital scares me. Have my walls gone back up? Yes, but I don’t know what else to do.” Emma felt like her pirate was overreacting. “I don’t want to have to break down your walls again. I chased you for too long to give up now but I want to have an active role in raising our children. I never thought I would ever have the chance to be a dad. When Milah and I were together we talked about going back for Baelfire, but never did. And when he finally did end up on my ship in Neverland I was finally starting to think of him like a son when he found the picture of Milah and didn’t want to stay on the ship with me anymore. After that I gave up on the thoughts of love and family, until I met you. Breaking down your walls and being around you and Henry, finally gave me hope that one day I would finally have a chance at the family I always dreamed of. Having these girls has been one of the best things for me. I never knew someone so little could take up so much room in my heart. Bloody hell, Swan, all I want is for you to keep me in the loop and trust me enough to be able to take care of our girls.” Killian finally finished his rant throwing his arms into the air.

Emma did not know what to say. She was starting to feel bad now with how she acted. But this was all new territory for her too. She has never raised a newborn, let alone two whom were born early. She did not know how to trust anyone with the girls. Was she worried this could ruin her relationship with Killian? Yes. Did she think that he could not handle the girls? No. She knew that Killian was going to be an amazing father to their girls since he was already an amazing one to Henry, who is not biologically his. Just like Emma though he has never had to raise a newborn either. This was all new ground for both of them. It was going to take some getting used to for both of them. Looking over at her fiance, who was pacing around their living room, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else I can tell you. I know I’ve built my walls back up and I do believe that you can take care of the girls.” Killian never stopped pacing around the living room. He did not know what else to say to Emma and he was still so frustrated that he did not want to say something that would change their relationship or something he would regret. Looking at the time and seeing that it was late Killian came over toward Emma. “I’m going to head to bed. It’s getting late,” He said before kissing her on the head and heading to their room. “Killian, can we please talk about this?” Emma asked. He stopped just long enough to answer her without turning around, “I’m not ready to continue this conversation. Sorry, Swan.” 

Emma ended up leaving the apartment and walking to her parent’s loft since she needed some air. Even though she was feeling down she was on high alert in case anyone choose to attack her. She had not used her magic in a while and she mentally reminded herself that she needs to do something to make sure it was working properly. Knocking on her parent’s door, a sleepy Snow answers it, “Emma, what are you doing here. Why are you not at home with Killian?” All Emma could muster up the energy to do was fall into a hug with her mother and cry. Snow brought her into the loft trying to keep them quiet since Neal had just gone to sleep. “I don’t know why I keep messing up mine and Killian’s relationship. He’s never been anything but good to me and I treat him terribly. I trust him with our girls, but I can’t seem to let him handle any of the responsibility.” Emma said laying on the couch with her head in her mother’s lap. Snow ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair, “Emma, you just need to talk to him and let him help with the girls especially since he is going to be staying at home with them. You can’t keep putting up your walls.” Emma did not know what to say as she lay there. She let out a sigh before finally speaking, “I know. He told me the same thing. I just still don’t know how to keep them down and trust people all the time. I need to remember that I wouldn’t be engaged to him if I couldn’t trust him.” Snow stopped playing with her hair saying, “Why don’t you go tell him that. Your dad will give you a ride so you don’t have to walk. 

When David finally got home and drove Emma back to her apartment, she walked in to find Killian frantically pacing up and down the hallway with both his and her phone in hand. It was then that she realized that she had left it on the table in a haste to get fresh air. “Killian,” Emma started but he interrupted her. “Where were you? I was worried when I came out for water and you weren’t here.” Emma moved over to him and put her hands on his waist. “I’m sorry I needed some air and ended up at Mom and Dad’s . I didn’t realize I left my phone. I really am sorry, babe.” Emma said moving her hands around to rest on his lower back trying to get a response out of him and have his arms around her. He finally gave in, pulling her to him and burying his face in the crook of her neck. “Swan, I just want you to know how I feel and to let me help. I love you and our children and I just want you to trust me with the girls. I was more upset over the fact that you and the doc didn’t share with me that Kensington could be coming home soon. I don’t want to miss out on anything that has to do with our life.” Killian did not let her go, but moved so he could hold her face gently in his hands before placing an innocent kiss to her lips. “I know, Killian. I’m sorry. I need to remember that this time, I’m not in it alone. And that you aren’t going to leave me,” Emma tells him tightening her arms around his waist and snuggling into his arms. She had not wanted to be held since the girls were born, but now she realized how much she had missed being in his arms. 

They went to bed that night feeling much better about how their future was going to go and how they were going to handle situations together as a team. They continued to keep their communication going and knew that they needed to not worry about anything but their family for the time being. Their relationship could no longer be put on the back burner, but for now their girls needed them and that is what was most important. They continued to spend their next couple of days at the hospital with the girls and then spending the nights curled up in each other’s arms to sleep. Kensington continued to do great and was going to be coming home in a day’s time. Ansleigh was still struggling a bit to breathe when she was sleeping. They were continuing to lower the amount of oxygen she was on, but she would not be ready to head home with her sister. They went home the night before Kensi’s release and made sure they had everything ready for when she got home. What they were surprised to see sitting outside their apartment with her parents standing there was a brand new pitch black, Dodge Journey. “Mom, Dad, what is this?” Emma asked when she stepped closer toward the vehicle. “We figured since you just added two new members to the family you were going to need a bigger vehicle and we wanted to do this for you. Don’t worry you can keep your bug, but now you have one that will fit all five of you if not more if you chose.” David tells his daughter as he watches her look at Killian. “Thank you, mate,” Killian tells him moving closer to shake his hand. Emma still had no idea what to say, so she just hugged her parents. While Emma looked around the SUV, Killian ran up to the apartment to grab the carseats so that they could install them now instead of waiting until tomorrow. 

“You guys really didn’t have to do this,” Emma said looking at her parents after she had opened all the doors to look in the car. “Sweetheart, just because we live in this world doesn’t mean that you aren’t a princess. We are allowed to spoil our little girl even if she is engaged with three kids of her own. So stop telling us it was too much and just accept it,” David tells her as Killian comes out the door. They get the carseats installed and then they all went to Granny’s for dinner; Emma driving their new car. “Killian,” Emma said as they were headed home from the diner. “Aye, love,” he answered looking over at her from the passenger seat. “I think it’s time we teach you how to ‘captain this vessel’ as you would so say,” Emma said with a chuckle, “This way I don’t always have to be around for you and the girls to get out of the house when it’s raining or cold.” Killian didn’t know what to say reaching over and grabbing Emma’s hand, “Think I can handle a vessel like this?” He asks as Emma pulls into the empty lot of the school. “Only one way to find out. Switch me spots.” They both got out and switched sides. Killian took off driving through the parking lot with perfect speed and maneuverability. What Emma did not know was that while her dad had been teaching Robin to drive, he had also been teaching Hook. “Hook!” Emma exclaimed, “When did you learn to drive?” Killian chuckled and drove them out of the parking lot turning in the direction of their apartment, “Your father decided to teach me when he was teaching Robin, so that we could both help drive our families around.” Emma could not have been happier. She did not mind driving, but now she would not have to worry about Killian and the girls when she was at work and they could still go places without having to walk. The newer car, also, meant that her children would be safe and not have to be squashed in the back of the bug. She wanted what was best for them and her parents were helping her with just that. 

They both had trouble sleeping that night, since the next day they were going to be able to bring Kensington home. Emma had been talking to Henry and he wanted to spend Kensington’s first night at home with them, even though Robin would be leaving soon. He wanted to be able to spend that time with them before Robin left so that he could stay at Regina’s while Robin was gone and feel like he was not spending enough time with Emma and Killian. He would be coming over the next day after school, and would be spending the night with them, but would be going back to Regina and Robin’s the next day after a couple of hours so he could be there when Robin left. Both Emma and Killian were finally able to get a little bit of sleep before they had to get up the next morning. Hook is the first to wake and decides to spoil his fiance with breakfast in bed since he feels bad that it will not get to happen as often once both girls are home with them. As Emma smells the coffee coming from the kitchen and hears their pans rattling she realizes that Killian is making breakfast, but as she gets ready to get out of bed Killian walks through their door, “Love, get back in that bed.” Emma does as he asks and he walks around to her side of the bed placing the tray over her legs before going around to join her in the bed. Emma does not touch the food until after she has given Killian a good morning kiss. “Thank you for making us breakfast,” Emma whispered against his lips. Without moving away from her and kissing her Killian whispers, “Anything for you love.” 

After each of them ate and got showered they headed over to the hospital to see their little girls. When they got to the hospital they were surprised to see Mary Margaret sitting near the girls holding Ansleigh. “Good morning, Mom,” Emma said moving to pick up Kensington, “What are you doing here this morning?” Emma sat down in the chair as her mother looked over at her, “Just thought I would come see my granddaughters. I thought the two of you would be here earlier.” Killian pulled over a stool and sat next to Emma as she started to nurse Kensington and Snow handed Ansleigh over so she could nurse them both at the same time. With Killian’s help she was able to get Ansleigh situated and both girls ate. “I decided to make Emma breakfast in bed and we lost track of time talking and eating.” Snow smiled at them before saying she needed to get to school or she was going to be late. Emma and Killian hung around the NICU trading girls back and forth. A couple hours before Emma and Killian would be ready to leave the girls doctor came by to see Kensington. “Good Afternoon, Miss Swan and Mr Jones. So before you can take Kensington home with you today we want to do a carseat test. We want to make sure she can keep her oxygen levels up even while sitting in the carseat for one hour. Sound good?” Emma and Killian both shared a giddy smile before saying ‘yes’ at the same time. They had brought the carseat up with them earlier so they got Kensington dressed in her going home outfit and then put her into the carseat. 

After getting her strapped in Emma sat and nursed Ansleigh a little early so that they could leave when Kensi was released. As they waited, they got in as much time with Ansleigh as possible and talked about how they were going to handle tonight. When the hour was up Kensington was ready to go home. It seemed like Ans could sense things were changing because she started crying instantly and Emma did not want to leave her. “Love, it’s going to be a change. We are going to miss Ansleigh and the girls are going to miss each other, but it’s a good thing that we get to take Kensington home with us. Aye?” Emma sighed looking down at the little one in her arms and then the little one sleeping in her carseat before answering Killian, “Yeah it’s a good thing. We love you, Ansleigh. Mommy will come see you tomorrow.” They had decided that while Ansleigh was still in the hospital Emma would be the one to come so that she could continue to nurse Ansleigh and Killian would give Kensington milk Emma had already pumped. 

As they get Kensington into the car Emma and Killian both start to get nervous. This time they are on their own and they don’t have anyone to help. They sat in the car taking deep breathes before Killian pulled out of the parking spot to take two of his three favorite girls home. He kept driving very cautiously until Emma told him he at least needed to go the speed limit. When they finally got home Henry was sitting at the counter working on homework, but the minute he saw the carseat get carried in, he gave up on it in order to spend some time with the youngest of his three sisters. “Can I please hold her?” he asked looking at his parents. Emma could not help but smile before saying, “Finish your homework while I feed her and then you can have her while dad and I get dinner ready.” Henry sighed before looking over at Killian, whom nodded his head to tell Henry he needed to agree. “Swan, where do you want to feed her at?” Killian asked as he picked his daughter up out of her carseat. “Let’s start with in the bedroom. I don’t want to scar Henry and I can always feed them anywhere when he’s not here or when I get used to it and can cover up,” Emma tells him after heading toward their bedroom as he followed with their daughter. 

Getting situated on the bed Emma takes Kensington from Killian and begins to nurse her. Killian is not ready to leave his girls yet so he sits down next to Emma. “Love, what do we want for dinner? We haven’t really gone to the store. The only food we really have for anyone is Kensington, but that’s only because of you.” Emma could not help but roll her eyes and chuckle at her fiance, as he continued, “I do like getting to watch you feed our girls. If we lived in the Enchanted Forest it wouldn’t even be acceptable for me to watch you feed our children. It just wasn’t something people thought was right. I love seeing this time you have with our girls and how much it makes me love you even more.” Emma looks over at him and sees the look of love and adoration in his eyes. “Killian can you please come closer so I can give you a kiss?” Without a word he leans up and captures Emma’s lips in a sweet kiss before telling her that he was going to go hang out with Henry. When Killian got out to the living space he was surprised to see his future in-laws in the kitchen with Granny’s takeout for dinner. “Where is Emma?” Snow asked when she spotted him. “She’s in the bedroom feeding Kensi. Thank you for dinner.” Killian said moving toward Henry. 

Once the Charmings have left and Henry had gotten to hold his sister it was time for all of them to go to bed. Henry was taking his shower while Emma got ready for bed and started to feed Kensington before it was time to put her down for the night. They had chosen to get bassinets for the master bedroom so the girls could sleep with them until they were sleeping through the night. They were all in bed fairly early, but unlike Henry, who got a full night sleep; Kensington had a rough night so in turn Emma and Killian both had a rough night too. They knew that things would slowly get better and it just took time. They were just happy that one of their girls was finally home with them. The next day, Emma dropped Henry off at the Locksley’s and headed to the hospital while Killian spent his day at the apartment with Kensington for a little daddy/daughter time.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43 

Genevieve had given Regina a hard time going to bed tonight. She wondered if the young girl could sense that something was going on in the house and it was starting to affect her. Sneaking out of the nursery she made her way down the hall to her and Robin’s bedroom. “You ready for tomorrow?” Regina asked when she entered their bedroom. “I think so. How about you?” Robin replied. “Not at all. I am not looking forward to you not being here, even if it’s only for a few days.” she responded. She crawled into bed next to him and began to kiss him. “Now for my going away present to you.” Regina said between kisses. As her hands began to wander his body, Robin moaned in pleasure, but he halted her efforts. “Regina, we can’t.” he reminded her. “Just because you can’t do anything to me…Doesn’t mean I can’t do anything for you.” she replied in a sultry voice. He went to argue again, but she immediately kissed him and resumed her previous efforts.

A short time later, Robin wrapped Regina up in his arms as she laid on his bare chest. “That was a great going away present.” he hummed, feeling satisfied. “I love you.” Regina said, before taking his lips in hers again. “I love you too.” Robin replied. “I’m going to miss falling asleep in your arms. I always sleep so much better when you’re here.” she said as she cuddled even closer to him. “I know, me too. It’s only going to be two days though. Then I will be right back here, wrapped in your arms.” Robin responded. “I’m looking forward to it.” was all she said before cuddling in closer and drifting off to sleep.

Across town, Elsa was worried to tell Little John she was going to the Enchanted Forest with Robin and had been keeping it a secret. She knew he would not like it, but she did not want to see him worry for longer than she was already going to. When Elsa got home from work she was not expecting John to be waiting on her. “When were you going to tell me you were going to the Enchanted Forest?” He asked before Elsa had a chance to say a word to him. “LJ…” Elsa started but stopped trying to keep flurries from appearing around her head. “I was going to tell you tonight. That’s why I wanted a date night.” John stood up and took his girlfriend in his arms when he saw her begin to struggle with her emotions. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I should have given you a chance to explain, but instead I snapped at you. Please stop crying,” John said kissing her temple as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Elsa pulled back to look at her boyfriend before moving close to give him a kiss. As the kiss seemed to continue Elsa could not help the moan that escaped her. Pulling away from the kiss Elsa said, “How about we have dinner and talk before all of this goes any farther.” Giving her one last kiss John says, “Okay,” and leads her over to the table that was set up for their date with Chinese food waiting for them. He moved to get them both a glass of wine before he took the seat across from Elsa. 

“Love, can you explain everything that is going on? I was really confused when Robin mentioned it earlier,” LJ asked Elsa as they began to eat their dinner. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t want to have to see you worry for more than one night,” Elsa tells him taking his hand before telling him everything about the meeting and what was going on. After Elsa finished John agreed that it was a good thing she did not tell him any sooner. They took care of the dishes together as they flirted and talked about their days. After settling on the couch they continued to talk instead of turning on the t.v. and they continued to steal kisses between stories of their past and what they wanted in their future. One kiss got carried away and John picked Elsa up carrying her bridal style continuing to kiss her and taking her to the bedroom. “John,” Elsa whispers trying to get him to stop kissing her, “I think we need to slow down. We’ve talked about taking our relationship to the next level since I’ve talked to Emma, but I don’t want it to be before we say Good-bye.” John laid Elsa down on the bed before crawling in next to her to rest against her side. “I know, mi’lady but I really want to say goodbye to your properly,” John said placing a kiss to her head. Elsa talked to him and was able to convince him that they did not need to rush their relationship and that they could wait till she got back for sex. They continued to lay in bed whispering sweet words to each other and making-out. Some clothes were shed but both were able to control themselves from taking it any further. The next morning, Elsa could sense it was going to be a rough day for everyone. 

The next morning, Regina woke up without Robin next to her. She panicked a bit, not sure where he had gone. He appeared in their bedroom doorway with Genevieve in his arms. “I wanted to grab her when she woke up, let you sleep a bit longer. Plus, I wanted a few minutes alone with our sweet little girl. She just finished her bottle and had her diaper changed. Now, I’m going to hand her to her wonderful mother so I can go take a shower. We both know hygiene is a bit more difficult to maintain in the Enchanted Forest.” Robin told her. He handed their wide awake daughter to Regina, kissing Genny’s forehead and then giving Regina a gentle kiss on the lips. He wanted to get in as many kisses as he could before he left.

When he got out of the shower, he made his way downstairs to where Regina was making all of his favorite breakfast foods. She handed him a cup of coffee as he came closer to her. He kissed her in thanks, before joining the boys at the table. Genevieve was sitting in her bouncer seat, just watching everything going on in the kitchen. Breakfast was a bit quieter than normal. Everyone tried to act like they were not going to be saying goodbye to Robin in about an hour, but it was difficult. When they finished eating, Regina told the boys to head upstairs and get ready.

They had to leave the house soon to meet up with Elsa and the rest of the group. Regina pulled Robin towards her while they had a quiet moment alone. “I’m going to miss you so much.” she told him as she wound her arms around his waist. “I’m going to miss you more.” he replied, kissing her forehead. “Not possible.” Regina responded, rising up onto her toes and kissing him on the lips. “Well mi’lady, I guess we’re going to have to agree to disagree on that one. I love you.” he said as their lips parted and he rested his forehead against hers. “And I love you. So much. I don’t want to say goodbye to you, even if it is just for a few days.” Regina said as a stray tear started to form in her eye. “I will be back before you know it. The kids will keep you busy for the two days that I am gone.” he responded. Robin pulled her into a deep kiss and she immediately kissed him back. They shared a few tongue filled kisses before pulling each other back into a tight hug. Robin breathed her in as he held her, memorizing her usual scent of apples and vanilla. Regina still had the sinking feeling that something was wrong and she prayed that it had nothing to do with the mission Robin and Elsa were about to begin.

When the boys returned downstairs they loaded all the kids into the car before heading to Regina’s office where they were meeting everyone else. Elsa and Little John were already there, tightly grasping each other’s hands. Snow and Charming had also come to see Robin and Elsa off. They reviewed the plan one last time before they all started to say goodbye. Robin started with Snow and Charming before making his way to his family.

Elsa had already told Emma and Killian goodbye through a text and told them to kiss the girls for her. She was not ready to let go of Little John’s hand, but knew she needed to say goodbye to the Charmings before she could handle a goodbye with him. After watching Robin say goodbye to Charmings, Elsa was ready to say goodbye to them as well. While Elsa was saying goodbye to them John was talking to Robin, “Take care of her for me mate. I can’t lose her, so bring her back safely.” Robin told him he would before he moved over to his family and Elsa took his hand back in hers pulling them away from the others. “Please be careful, love.” John said pulling Elsa into a warm embrace. “I’m coming home to you L.J. Don’t worry too much. I’ll have Robin to get me through it and I know you trust him,” Elsa placed a kiss to his lips after saying what she had to say. Little John could not help but reciprocate the kiss and Elsa, again, could not help the moan that escaped, making her not want to leave her boyfriend. “I’ll see you soon, mi’lady,” John said kissing her one last time with all the passion he could pull from. They continued to hold each other until Robin was finished talking to his family. They slowly stole kisses while they were waiting. 

He turned to Henry and Roland first, “Be good for your mother and Tink. I will be back in a few days. I’m going to miss you guys. I love you both.” Robin said before pulling each boys into a hug. “Love you too dad.” Henry responded after the hug. Roland doing the same thing, the only difference being that he called Robin daddy. Robin then took his daughter from Regina’s arms for a moment. “You be good too little one. Don’t give your mom too hard of a time. I love you.” Robin said. He kissed her forehead and stared at the beautiful little girl he and Regina had created. “Henry can you take your sister for a minute?” Robin asked. Henry obliged his request and took his sister into his arms.

“I guess it’s my turn.” Regina said as Robin moved closer to her. “I love you more than I could ever put into words.” he told her as pulled her into a loving embrace. “The feeling is mutual. Now before you go, I have something for you.” Regina responded. She pulled back just enough from the hug to reach into her pocket, still not ready to leave Robin’s arms. Regina pulled out a small mirror and handed it to Robin, “We can use this to communicate with each other while you are gone. It will allow us to see and talk to each other. I have the other piece with me and all you have to do is say my name and it should allow us to talk. Keep it with you at all times.” she explained. “This is a great idea. Unfortunately, I believe it is time we say goodbye. I love you and I will see you in a couple of days.” Robin replied. “I love you too. Please come back to me safely.” she responded. They traded a few chaste kisses as they were surrounded by several other people. Robin pulled her back into his arms for one last hug before slowly letting her go.

Robin and Elsa stood in the middle of Regina’s office as everyone else had moved far enough away as to not get sucked into the portal. Regina and Robin did not break eye contact with each other as Elsa threw the bean towards the floor and the portal began to open. Regina mouthed out the words “I love you” to Robin and he responded with “I love you too” before the pair jumped through the portal that would return them to the Enchanted Forest. Moments later the portal closed, leaving Regina’s office looking the same as it had.

Regina was left with a slightly empty feeling without her soulmate standing next to her or even in the same realm. She made eye contact with Little John and he seemed to have the same worried look she had been wearing for a week. Genevieve fussed a bit in her arms and she gently rocked her a bit to calm her down. She looked to see her sons on either side of her and gave them each a small smile. After a few moments, Snow finally spoke “Well, I guess we will see you all later. Regina and Little John let us know if you need anything”. Charming nodded in agreement before following his wife to head out of the office. Snow gently placed a hand on Regina’s shoulder as she passed and Charming gave one of Regina’s arms a reassuring squeeze before they left. This left Regina, Little John, and the kids in the office.

“They’ll be okay. Robin knows those woods better than anyone and Elsa has some pretty amazing magic. Let me know when you hear from them.” Little John said to Regina before he started to make his way out of her office. “Little John, wait a second. Why don’t we figure out some times that we can get together so you can talk to Elsa as well.” Regina replied as she walked towards him. “That would be great. Thank you Regina.” Little John responded before he gave her a reassuring smile and left the office. “Well, what do you guys think of Granny’s for lunch?” Regina said, trying to keep her and the children’s spirits up. “Yeah, that sounds good mom.” Henry replied.

They sat in Granny’s quietly eating their food, no one exactly sure what to talk about. Henry decided to break the silence, “So, can we watch a movie tonight? I really think you guys will like the new Avengers movie”. Regina looked up from her food. “Sure sweetheart, that sounds like fun.” Regina responded. Henry reached across the table to take his mom’s hand. “Dad is going to be okay. He’ll be back before we know it.” Henry told her. “Yes he will be.” Regina said with a reassuring smile, praying that they were right.

When they arrived home, the house somehow felt a bit off to Regina. She was missing Robin already and he had only been gone for a few hours. They spent more than a few hours apart each day when they went to work, but this was different and Regina felt it. “Boys, are both of you caught up on your homework for the weekend?” she asked. They both shook their head no. “Why don’t you guys go work on it so that it’s done before we watch the movie tonight.” Regina told them both. The pair did as they were instructed and headed up the stairs together to get started on their homework.

This left Regina alone with Genny. “Well little one, what do you think we should do?” she asked, looking down at the beautiful and innocent little girl in her arms. Genevieve stared back at her with Robin’s crystal blue eyes. She took a moment to stare into her eyes and soak in the love she felt for the child she and Robin had created. “What do you say we go and finish getting the guest room ready for Auntie Tink? She should be here soon.” Regina said. She made her way up the stairs, grabbing the bouncer seat out of the nursery to put Genny in. When she finished up the guest room, she gave Genevieve a bottle and put her down for her nap.

About an hour later, Regina heard her phone go off as she was putting lasagna in the oven for dinner. Tink was texting her to let Regina know she was there, that way she would not wake Genny up by ringing the doorbell. Regina made her way to the front door and let Tink in. They exchanged some small talk before Regina showed her to the guest bedroom. Tink could sense how worried Regina was and could tell that her friend was just off. She decided not to mention it unless Regina brought it up herself.

Tink ate dinner with all of them and helped Regina put Genevieve to bed. Once the newborn was fast asleep, they joined the boys down stairs in the living room. As promised, they watched the new Avengers movie. Henry loved watching it for what was probably the hundredth time. Regina watched as her older son appeared to be passing his love of superheroes onto her younger son, whispering things to him throughout the movie. Roland was completely enthralled by it all and had a huge smile on his face when Henry would lean over to tell him something. The only thing missing was Robin. She tried to keep her mind off of it, but during a movie she would normally be cuddled up with him on the couch and she missed his presence. She wanted to keep things as normal as possible for the kids though and watching a movie together on a Saturday night was a frequent occurrence. When the movie was over, they all made their way up to bed and bid each other goodnight.

It was the part of Robin being gone that Regina dreaded the most, going to bed alone. She made her way to their empty bedroom and got ready for bed. When she finally got ready to lay down in bed, she noticed a piece of paper laying on her pillow.  
To my loving wife,

I know this is the part of me being gone that will be hardest for you. I hate not being there to kiss you goodnight and hold you in my arms as we fall asleep. You and our children are everything to me and I cannot wait to return to all of you. I WILL see you soon.

Now back to the matter at hand. I want you to take my pillow, hold it tight and close your eyes. My forest scent as you like to call it, should still be on my pillow which will help with this next part. Imagine that my arms are around you, one of my hands rubbing small circles on your back, and I am placing feather light kisses in your hair. Keep picturing this until you fall asleep.

I love you forever and always,  
Your husband

“I love you Robin.” Regina whispered before gently kissing the paper the note was written on. She did as he instructed, crawling into bed and pulling his pillow tight to her chest. While the forest smell was not as strong as it was when coming from Robin himself, but it was still there. She could not help the few tears that seemed to fall since all she wanted in that moment was him there with her. She closed her eyes and began to imagine the words he had written. While it took slightly longer than she would have liked, Robin’s plan eventually worked and she drifted off to sleep, still snuggled up to his pillow.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Elsa and Robin had only left a few days ago, but Emma was worrying that things were not going to go okay and she wanted her best friend to come home safely. Elsa had stopped by the house to see Kensington and say goodbye to Emma before she had to leave. Emma could tell that she was worried and that she did not want to leave Little John. Emma knew though that L.J. would be okay for two days without Elsa and that Robin and Elsa were more than capable of handling anything that came their way in the Enchanted Forest. She needed to worry more about her girls than about Robin and Elsa being in the Enchanted Forest. She had been visiting Ansleigh regularly and her breathing was getting better, but they were not sure when she was finally going to get to come home to her parents and twin sister. 

Kensington being home has been a challenge for Emma and Killian, but also a blessing. They were both exhausted since they were taking turns getting up at night to feed her. Even though they were taking turns, both of them were still waking up every time Kensi so much as whimpered. When it was Emma’s turn to get up with her she was nursing her, but Killian would lay there and watch them because he did not want to miss out on a moment of the girls’ lives. He was getting up before Emma in the morning and moving the bassinet out of the room with him so that Emma could get some extra sleep before she went and spent the day in the NICU with Ansleigh. While he was cooking breakfast for his fiancee, Kensington was continuing to sleep. Killian was lost in his thoughts when he felt two arms wrap around his waist and a kiss placed on his cheek. “Good morning, handsome,” Emma said placing another kiss to his jawline. Turning in Emma’s arms, Killian places a kiss to her lips whispering “Good morning, love,” but it does not last long since Kensi wakes up from her bassinet screaming. “Good morning to you, sweet girl,” Emma says as she picks her up and sits down on one of the stool. 

Emma nurses Kensington as Killian finishes up with breakfast and they eat before Emma hands Kensington back over to Killian. “I’ll see you later, babe,” Emma says placing a kiss to his lips before placing a kiss to Kensington’s head. “I’ll meet you, later. This way we can switch off babies so I can see Ansleigh if that’s okay with you?” Killian says as he opens the door for his fiancee. “Sounds good,” Emma says before walking out the door with an “I love you.” Killian moves back to the master bedroom to get himself and Kensi dressed for the day. Once they were both ready, Killian figured a walk would do them good. While out on their walk Killian made sure that the canopy was covering Kensi and that her blanket was also snug. It was not chilly out, but he was not going to take any chances. Killian and Kensi continued their walk and then stopped into Granny’s for lunch before walking home. As they came into the diner, Granny got excited to see Kensington. Everyone had already been told that when the girls were out in public they were not allowed to be touched, so Granny just looked over Killian’s shoulder as he fed her and waited on his own food. 

They arrived back at the house just in time to get the car packed up to head over to the hospital, so that he and Emma could trade places. When they got to the hospital he kept Kensington in her carseat and carried it up to the NICU so that the girls could see each other through the glass. Once they got up there Emma came running of the NICU and pulled him into a big hug. “Love, what’s going on, not that I mind,” Killian asked as Emma kissed him. “Go get the other carseat. If Ansleigh passes the test we could be sleeping with both girls tonight.” Emma tells him. Killian sits Kensington’s seat on the floor before placing a passionate kiss to Emma’s lips. He pulls away and goes to get the other carseat. When Hook comes back it’s time for Kensington’s next feeding, so he goes into the NICU and Emma takes Kensi to another room to feed her. While in the other room Emma starts thinking back to their first conversation about their relationship after the girls were born.

Flashback: 

Emma could not believe that Killian had gone to Regina’s and brought Henry home with him. They had agreed to talk later when they were at the hospital, but it seemed as if he did not want to have this conversation. After they went to bed that night, Emma woke up and could not get back to sleep. Pulling herself from Killian’s arms was easier than she thought it would be. She loved sleeping in his arms and had fallen asleep that way, but now being awake in the middle of the night and aware of all that was happening between them, she was too upset still and did not want to be in his arms. When she got to the kitchen, she grabbed a snack and her pump before moving to the living room. Emma watched a movie while she pumped and fell asleep on the couch after everything had been cleaned up, this is how her fiance and son found her when it was time for Henry to go to school. After Henry left Killian started right into their conversation. “Why are you building your walls back up? I don’t want to have to break them down again.” Emma could not believe this is how he wanted to start this out. “I’m scared Killian. You’ve known all along that when I’m scared my walls go back up! I have magic, but I can’t even use it to save the twins when that’s all I want to do.” Emma had tears rolling down her face since her hormones were still all over the place and she did not like arguing with her fiance. “Bloody hell, Emma. I’m scared too, but I can’t even talk to you about it because you are too caught up in how you are feeling! That’s why I went and got Henry yesterday. He texted me worried about his sisters, so I thought it would be a good thing to get his mind off of what was going on. You didn’t even bother to ask him how he was feeling about them being in the NICU or how it was having Genny at home. How do you think that made him feel?” Killian accused her and Emma could feel the pain and hurt spreading through her chest. “Don’t you dare tell me how to talk to my son!” Emma said moving away from the living room toward the kitchen. “He’s not just your son. He has three other parents who love and care about him! Just like the girls aren’t just your’s! You aren’t in this alone this time Swan, so stop acting like you are!” Killian tells her before he moves toward their room to get dressed for work. “DO NOT get dressed for work! If you are going to change it better be to go to the hospital to see the girls. I texted my dad last night to tell him that you were officially off the job!” Emma raised her voice so that he would hear her. “YOU DID WHAT?” Killian yelled from their bedroom. Emma moved toward their bedroom without another word and got dressed. “We are going to the hospital and you are NOT going to work.” she shouted at him. Killian could not believe what was going on. They did not get anything resolved in that talk and it upset Emma even more than she was already feeling. They did not speak again for the rest of the day and Emma ended up staying at the hospital that night.

Emma did not know what brought that flashback to her mind but, she was definitely glad they they had resolved everything. She did not know she was crying until she heard, “Love, is everything okay?” Emma could not help but smile, hearing that beautifully accented voice she loved so much. “I’m okay. Was just thinking about how horrible our original conversation about our relationship after we had the girls went and how glad I was that we were able to have another one and work everything out.” Killian leaned over and placed a kiss to her lips before saying, “Let’s take our girls home and have a quiet night in. Well as quiet as you can with twins sleeping in the same room.” Emma could not believe her ears. Both of her little girls would finally be at home together. Passing Kensington to Killian she said, “Put her back in her seat I’m going to text Henry and Regina.” 

Emma: Hey! Hope everything is going well in the Locksley house. Wanted to see if Henry wanted to come spend the night with us? Ansleigh is coming home! 

Henry: Mom, that’s amazing! 

Henry: Mom, can I go? 

Regina: Things are good here Swan. We are all just missing Robin. Henry I’m okay with you going since I have Tinks help. Emma, let me know if you need anything. 

Emma: Thanks! Give the kiddos hugs from me. Henry we will pick you up soon. Getting ready to leave the hospital now. 

After Emma had talked to Henry and Regina she texted her parent’s and told them. They promised to drop off dinner so that neither of them had to do any cooking. Once they had both girls in the car, it was time to head home. Just like last time Emma had to remind Killian that he had to at least go the speed limit to get them home. Henry was excited to get in the car and see his little sisters. He could not believe all three of them were now home. Once they got back to the apartment, Emma transferred the girls to their bassinets to sleep and moved out to the living room to hang out with her boys. Curling up in Killian’s arms on the couch she said, “So what are we going to watch until I need to feed the girls?” Killian placed a kiss to her head before telling Henry, “You can choose, lad.” Henry ended up picking a show and the three of them laughed and hung out until a cry interrupted an episode. Getting up Emma and Killian moved to their room. Hook helped Emma get both girls situated before going back out to Henry. When he got out there, Snow was standing in their kitchen, “I’m guessing that Emma is feeding the girls.” Snow said when she saw him coming out of their room. Killian smiled before sitting at the counter with his son, “Yes, she is. Thank you for dinner. You didn’t have to do this.” Snow nodded, “No, I didn’t, but I wanted too. It’s nice getting to take care of my daughter even if she is 33 years old, engaged, and has three kids.” Killian can not help but chuckle when he hears Emma call out from the bedroom, “Babe, can you come help please!” This makes Henry cringe and Mary Margaret chuckle before Henry says, “How can you help her? Wait, don’t answer that.” This makes his dad and grandmother laugh as Killian takes his leave toward the room, leaving Henry to eat his dinner. 

“So, love, what can I help you with?” Killian asks as he moves to sit on the bed with his girls as he watches Emma nurse the twins. “I really just wanted company. Did I hear my mom out there with you and Henry? What did she bring for dinner? I’m starving.” Emma says really fast looking over at Killian. “Swan, one question at a time. Yes you heard your mother and she brought Chinese. I will gladly keep you company any time you want. This is a view I could really get used too.” Killian says before leaning over to give Emma a quick kiss as the girls continue to eat. “Mom, Dad, can I bring your dinner in? I figured you would both be hungry.” Henry says from the end of the hall. Thankfully their bed was not where it could be seen if the door was open. “Hold on just a minute lad.” Killian said draping a blanket over Emma and the twins, “Okay you can come in now.” Henry moves into the bedroom giving Killian the food carton before standing awkwardly at the end of the bed. “Kid, you can sit on the bed with us. You don’t have to stand there.” Emma said as she saw his eyes drifting around the room. Since Killian moved in he has not stepped foot into the master bedroom. He just was not sure if it would be awkward considering it was now the room she shared with her fiance.

“I don’t know how I feel about that, Mom,” Henry says as he finally seems to relax. Emma and Killian both rolled their eyes before Hook spoke, “Lad, get up here with us. You would know if you weren’t allowed in here, but we are telling you to stay and hang out with us, so relax please.” By the time Henry finally relaxes enough to listen to his parent’s the girls are done nursing. “Killian now I really do need help. Keep the cover over me but take Ansleigh from my arm please.” Emma asks as Hook shifts over to take their oldest daughter in his arms. Once he has her, Emma is able to right herself before pulling the blanket from her and Kensington before picking up her fork to take a bite of the food that is sitting between her and her fiance. “So Henry how is your relationship with Melody going?” Emma asks after she had finished her bite. “Things are good,” Henry answers, “It’s just hard for us to spend any time together though because everyone is worried about Morgana so they only time I see her is at school. I miss hanging out here or at Mom’s.” Henry says as his parents continue to eat. “I’m sorry Henry,” Emma starts to say, “If the girls had not just come home I’d tell you to call her and have her come over, but I just can’t. How about you talk to your grandparents and see if you two can spend an afternoon at their house? As long as your grandmother is there! I don’t want the two of you in a house without an adult.” Emma tells him as she finishes eating, pushing the carton closer to Killian and handing him the fork from her hand. 

After they had all finished eating and chatting for a bit longer Henry helped get his sisters ready for bed and then got himself ready as well. Once he was ready for bed he said goodnight to everyone and made his way to his room, so that he could text his girlfriend without worry of his parents.

Henry: Hey Grandma, can Melody and I hang out with you some day after school this week? I’d do one of Moms’ houses but with the new babies and everything else going on, I just can’t.  
Grandma: Hey, that is fine just let me know what day. 

Henry: Thanks Grandma! You’re the best! :) 

With the approval of his grandmother to spend some time with Melody at the apartment, he texts his girlfriend to see if she likes the idea.

Henry: Hey sweetie! :)

Melody: Hey :) 

Henry: Want to hang out sometime this week? 

Melody: Where r we going to hang out? All the babies r home now. 

Henry: I know. Snow said we could hang out at the loft. Please! I miss you! 

Melody: I miss u 2! I dont know. Wont it b weird? 

Henry: Not if we don’t make it weird & I bet Grandma will let us have some time alone ;) 

Melody: Ok! What day? I really want to kiss u right now. :( 

Henry: I want to kiss you too! How about tomorrow! I don’t want to wait any longer! 

Melody: Sounds good 2 me. How r A & K? 

Henry: They are good. Hopefully they will let mom and dad get some sleep tonight or at least me. G has been crying more than usual since dad left so I’m glad I’m here. The twins don’t seem to cry as much. 

Melody: I’m just glad that no matter what u r safe. 

Henry: Mel, you’re safe too and I know my mom will defeat Morgana once and for all. 

Melody: I know I just wish it was now so that I didn’t have to worry anymore. 

Henry: I know, it shouldn’t be too much longer and you won’t have to worry anymore. It’s getting late we should get some sleep. I love you sweetheart. Relax and get a good night’s sleep. 

Melody: I will! Good night, Henry! I love you 2! 

While Henry was texting Melody and going to bed, Emma and Killian were sitting cuddled together in their bed talking about everything that had happened since the girls were born. It has been a crazy four and a half weeks but they were ready to move on with their lives with their children. They were ready for Morgana to be defeated too, so that the whole town could stop worrying again and enjoy the three new royals that have been born. “Killian?” Emma asks looking up at him and placing a kiss to his jawline. “Aye love, what’s going through that head of your’s?” Killian asks lifting her chin with his hook in order to place a kiss to her lips. He feels Emma moan into the kiss more than he hears her and there is nothing he wants more in this moment, than to not stop kissing her all night, but he knows that they have to stop as it cannot go any further. Emma is finally able to pull away from the kiss saying, “I don’t want to put off the wedding after Morgana is defeated. I want us to get married. I know we said we would wait till the girls were older, but I don’t want to go any longer without having your last name.” Killian does not even have any words for what Emma just told him. All he can think of to do is kiss her more passionately than he already had. He was ready to marry the love of his life and he was glad that she was finally ready to set a date. “Since we don’t know when Morgana will be defeated, we will plan to have it four weeks after that occurs. There is a lot we can get done without an official date so it won’t take too much time to plan once we finally defeat her.” Emma says between kisses. “Sounds good to me,” Killian whispered before he continued to kiss his fiancee. 

Once Killian releases Emma, she falls asleep in his arms. He knew she was probably worn out and they just needed some time to get back into just being them. Even though it will no longer be just them since they now how two little ones to care for. Killian could not seem to fall asleep, so he stayed up listening to his three girls sleep soundly in the darkness. When he heard both girls start to whimper for their feeding, he did not bother to wake his fiancee. Instead he grabbed both bassinets and moved out to the living room. He got the bottles ready and heated up before he got the girls out. Killian propped Kensington up on a boppy pillow and put her bottle in place with a blanket before resting Ansleigh in his arms and feeding her. He loved getting to spend this time with his little princesses, even if their mother still referred to them as little pirates. He knew that no matter what they had him wrapped tightly around their little fingers and he would do anything to protect them for the rest of their lives. 

Emma woke up some time later to realize that she had not heard the girls wake up and her pirate was not in bed next to her. She went in search of them, when she found Killian sleeping with Kensington laying on his chest his hand resting on her back Ansleigh snuggled in tight against his side sleeping peacefully in his arms. Before Emma had the heart to wake him up to send him back to bed, she snapped a picture on her phone that was still sitting on the counter from earlier. She wanted to capture this adorable moment with her fiance and their two little ones. “Killian, babe, lets go back to our room.” Emma said placing a kiss to head as she extracted Kensington from his chest before reaching for Ansleigh. Once the girls were snug in their beds they grabbed the bassinets and carried them back to the bedroom. That night they both dreamed about what their future had in store for them. What they did not know was that they were having the exact same dream as the other one. They both woke up with smiles on their faces because of their dreams. 

The next couple of days took some getting used to for Emma and Killian since they had both girls at home, but they worked together. The girls were doing really well and were growing just the way that their pediatrician was hoping they would. Henry was able to spend some time with Melody with the supervision of his grandmother and both of his mothers could tell that he was in a much better mood after getting to see her outside of school. They both still worried about him being in love at the age of 15 but they also knew that at this point there was no stopping it. They were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt though and trust him. Plus, they both had grown quite fond of Melody. Even though Emma was concentrating, mostly, on the twins she was also worried about how Robin and Elsa were fairing in the Enchanted Forest and hoped they were fine.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Robin and Elsa walked through the woods in the Enchanted Forest in search of the crimson crown. They had arrived a few hours earlier and decided to immediately begin their search. The sooner they found the mushroom, the sooner they could return to the people they loved. It had taken everything in Robin to leave his family, even in the moment they were jumping through the portal he considered abandoning the mission and running back to his family to hug and kiss them. He knew though that if there was another option, Regina and Belle would have found it. In the end his sense of honor and duty to protect others won the battle in his mind.

The pair had been walking in complete silence aside from the occasional discussion about which possible location they wanted to look into first. They had a list of likely locations they may find the crimson crowns and Regina had mentioned there was one location in particular she knew she had seen them. It was a few miles east of her former castle, in a field that Regina would frequent when she would go on horseback rides. She had revealed to Robin that she would secretly sneak away whenever she could to ride as it was one of the few times where she even felt a small amount of peace. As this was the only location that one of the group had actually seen the mushroom with their own eyes, Robin and Elsa agreed to start there. Most of the other locations on the list were ones that would be good places for them to grow or places where it was rumored to grow.

Regina’s castle was starting to come into view. From a distance, the changes that had occurred were a bit hard to grasp. Robin had spent far more time in the castle during the year between the first and second curses, when everyone was back in the Enchanted Forest. He noticed how everything had become overgrown, without anyone to tend to the grounds. There also had been some structural damage that appeared to have occurred, but overall the castle was still intact. Robin made a mental note of this to remember as a possible place to stay at night. He had no problem staying in the forest, but he was not sure Elsa would be a fan of camping.

They made their way east of Regina’s castle and found the field she had described to them. The pair chose to start their search at opposite ends of the field and meet in the middle. This way they could cover more ground and complete their search faster. They methodically made their way through the field and much to their dismay, did not find any trace of the crimson crown. After one more quick sweep of the field to ensure they did not miss anything, they chose to move on.

There was another possible location nearby that Robin thought they could make it to before sundown. The search would become much more difficult in the dark and also with the possibility of unknown dangers lurking around the Enchanted Forest, they felt it would be best to only perform their searches during daylight hours. The second location unfortunately did not turn up any sign of the crimson crown either. Just as they finished their search the sun was beginning to set and they chose to find shelter for the night.

“We can make our way back to Regina’s castle. It looked like it was in pretty good shape and it would likely be more comfortable.” Robin explained to Elsa. “I can handle camping, if we need to. It’s probably our best option at this point. As much as I would love to find one of what I am sure are plenty of comfortable beds in her castle to sleep in for the night, it’s probably safer for us to set up camp somewhere nearby. It would be dark by the time we made it back to the castle. Not to mention that we do not know if someone else has taken up residence in the castle.” Elsa responded. Robin had to admit, Elsa had made a lot of good points. “Okay, as long as you’re sure?” he replied. Elsa nodded her head in response.

The pair set up camp for the night and Elsa, yet again, impressed Robin with her assistance in setting up their tents. Apparently Little John was rubbing off on her. Once Robin was settled into his tent he considered calling Regina with the mirror, until he realized what time it was. As much as he wanted to see and speak to his wife, it was the middle of the night and he hoped that she was asleep. He decided he would wake up early the next morning and call her before they resumed their search. Robin settled into the sleeping bag that he had packed and tried to fall asleep. It was even more difficult than he imagined it would be, Robin was used to camping, but he had grown accustomed to falling asleep with Regina next to him. The way her hair would sometimes messily fall across her face as she sleepily curled into him. The way she would occasionally snore, but would never admit that she did no matter how many times he told her otherwise. He even missed the way she would use him as her own personal furnace on cold nights, often tucking her freezing cold feet under one of his legs to keep them warm or tucking her hands into his side to warm them up. And it is only their first night apart. One thing was for sure, when he finally returned to his family, he was going to do everything in his power to never be separated from them again.

Robin awoke the next morning just as the sun was beginning to rise. He figured that Regina would be awake as well, since Genny had decided that sunrise meant it was time to wake up. To be on the safe side, he waited a few more minutes and busied himself with rolling up his sleeping bag and heading out of his tent to restart the fire that had gone out overnight. Elsa had yet to appear from her tent, so Robin assumed she was still sleeping. He made his way back to his tent and pulled the mirror from his jacket pocket. “Regina” he said to it. It took a moment, but soon the ceiling of their bedroom appeared in the mirror. “Regina, my love, can you hear me?” Robin said quietly in hopes that it would not wake her if she was still asleep. He heard the shuffling of blankets before the mirror was picked up and the face of the woman he loved most in all of the realms appeared. “Good morning.” Regina whispered with Genevieve sleeping in her arms. “Good morning, I see someone has already fallen back to sleep.” Robin replied. “Yes, she gave me a bit of a hard time sleeping last night and this is the result. How are you?” Regina responded. “I’m good. Just missing you guys. We tried a few of the locations yesterday and didn’t have any luck yet.” Robin told her. She gave him an understanding smile. “We miss you too. Thank you for my letter, it helped…a lot.” Regina said. “Of course my love.” Robin replied.

Genevieve began to stir in her arms and their sleeping daughter slowly opened her eyes. Regina spoke to her in a loving tone that left Robin’s heart overflowing with love, “Good morning my sweet little one. Do you want to say hi to daddy?” she cooed to Genny. Regina tilted the mirror so that Robin could see his daughter. “Hi baby girl. Daddy misses you so much, but I’ll be home soon. You need to help your mom out though and sleep for her at night. I love you my precious girl.” Robin told her. Regina left the mirror on their daughter for a few moments more to allow Robin to see their daughter, before turning it back towards her. “I better get going, the sooner Elsa and I get started, the faster I can come home. I’ll call you later in the day. I love you.” Robin said. “Okay, I will talk to you later. I promised Little John that I would have him over a few times so he can talk to Elsa as well. Let her know that he should be here later and they can talk as well. Be careful. I love you too.” Regina replied. A few moments later, the mirrors disconnected.

When Regina was finished speaking with Robin, she situated Genny and started to nurse her. She was still nursing her first things in the morning and right before bed. The little girl was clearly hungry as she immediately began to eat. “Don’t worry sweet girl. Daddy will be home with us soon.” she whispered to her daughter as she ate.

After Genny was done eating, Regina took her infant daughter to Tink who was going to keep an eye on her while Regina got ready. “I’ll go get breakfast started too. That way it can be ready when the boys wake up.” Tink told her. Regina made her way to the master bathroom and got into the shower. She allowed the water to warm up for a moment before stepping in. Regina stood under the stream of water for a few moments just to try to wake up. Genevieve had given her a very hard time about sleeping last night and Regina was exhausted.

By the time Regina made it downstairs, the boys had joined Tink in the kitchen. Henry was helping finish up breakfast and Roland was attempting to set the table. Clearly they were following their father’s instructions to help out more while he was gone. Regina grabbed a plate from Roland’s hand, right as it was about to fall. “Thank you my little knight. Why don’t you just hold the plates for me and I will set them on the table.” she told him. Roland nodded his head and followed her around the table as she set the plates down. “Genevieve is sleeping in her swing in living room. She was asleep pretty much as soon as we got down here.” Tink told Regina.

The group sat down for breakfast. It was odd to not have breakfast as a family. “So, I talked to your dad this morning. He said he misses you guys and that he would call back later. You both can talk to him then.” Regina told the boys as they ate. A huge smile crossed both of their faces. “Yay! I miss daddy.” Roland replied. “I’m supposed to go to Melody’s for a bit to work on a project for school, but I will be sure to be home as soon as possible.” Henry said. When they finished eating, the boys helped clean up before going about their days.

All of them tried to make the day pass by as quickly as possible. They were excited to talk to Robin. Regina had called Little John after breakfast to invite him over that afternoon to allow him to speak to Elsa. She busied herself with chores around the house and taking care of Genny. What she really missed right now was work. It had always kept her busy and it would give her more to things to distract herself with. Regina still had at least another week of maternity leave left and while she was enjoying the time off, there were moments like this where she missed work.

Henry came running in the door around four in the afternoon in hopes that he did not miss the call with Robin. Little John was not far behind. As soon as he arrived at the house, Roland whisked him away to show him a new toy in his room. Regina had the mirror with her at all times and was anxiously awaiting her call from Robin. Thankfully, Robin did not keep them waiting long.

“Hello my love.” Robin said as the mirrors connected. “Hi. Any luck yet?” Regina asked. “No, but we still have a few places to look. How are things going there?” Robin replied. “Okay, we’ve all been trying to keep busy. Makes the time until you return go by faster.” she told him. Robin gave her a reassuring smile. “Well, there are some very eager boys who want to talk to you as well as Little John who I am sure would love to speak to Elsa. I’ll talk to you again once they’ve all had a turn.” Regina told him. She called for the boys and they both came running down the stairs with Little John behind them.

“I want to talk to him first. Please.” Roland said. Henry agreed, knowing his little brother was excited to speak to their dad. “Hey buddy. Have you been being good for mama?” Robin asked when his youngest son’s face appeared in the mirror. “Yes daddy. I listen to what mama says and help a lot. When are you coming home?” Roland replied. “Soon. I promise Roland. I love you and miss you. I’ll see you soon. Can you hand the mirror to Henry next?” Robin told him. “I love you too daddy.” Roland said with a smile.

“Hey dad.” Henry said when he took hold of the mirror. “Hi Henry. How are things going around there?” Robin asked his older son. “Good. I worked on a project for school with Melody today, but came home early so I could help mom out around the house tonight. How is the search coming?” Henry replied. “Thank you for helping your mom out while I’m gone. It’s going okay, we haven’t found what we’re looking for just yet, but I’m sure we’ll find it soon. I don’t have too much longer, we have one more place we want to check before nightfall and Elsa still wants to talk to Little John for a bit. I love you, keep helping your mom for me.” Robin said. “Love you too dad.” Henry responded. “Can you give the mirror to Little John please? Elsa is anxious to talk to him.” Robin requested.

Henry made his way over to Little John, handing him the mirror. “We’ll give you guys a minute. I’ll be in the living room. When you’re done can you bring the mirror to me? I want to talk to Robin for another minute.” Regina told him. Little John nodded in understanding, before the group walked into the living room to give him and Elsa some privacy. Watching everyone leave the room John was excited to get to talk to his girlfriend. He could hear Robin on the other end tell Elsa that he would give her privacy. “Hello, love,” Little John says as her face appears on the mirror. Elsa could not help the lone tear that rolled down her cheek, “I miss you. I wish that I could just be there with you.” Little John did not know what to say so it took him a few seconds before he could seem to come up with words, “I know sweetheart but you are needed to help Robin. We will spend time together when you get back.” Elsa was glad that while everyone else saw Little John as one of Robin’s Merry Men, she got to see his sweet, romantic side. “I can’t wait,” Elsa tells him with a wink, “I struggled trying to get to sleep last night since I’m so used to sharing a bed with you now.” John smiled before answering her, “I’m happy about that.” Elsa looked shocked, “You’re happy that I struggled getting to sleep?” John could not help the little chuckle that escaped him, “Sweetheart, I’m not happy you struggled but I’m happy that you are so used to sleeping in bed with me that it was weird for you to sleep alone and honestly,” Elsa nods her head at him, “It was hard for me to sleep without you too. It was too hot in bed without you here to cool it down.” Elsa’s laughed hard enough for tears to roll down her cheeks. “John, I better go. We need to get back to looking and I know Robin wanted to talk to Regina again,” Elsa tells him looking defeated. “I know. I miss you,” John says, “I love you. Stay safe.” Elsa gave him a weak smile back, “I miss and love you too. We’ll talk again soon.” After Elsa handed the mirror back to Robin, Little John took the mirror to Regina before telling her and the kids that he was heading back to the station. 

“Okay, so this time be completely honest. How is the search going?” Regina asked when she got the mirror back from Little John. “Honestly, I don’t know. We still have several places to look, but we only have so much to go on. Plus, we have yet to come across anyone we could actually ask.” Robin replied. “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Anything to get you home to me sooner.” Regina said. “Will do sweetheart. I have to get going though so we can try to make it to the other place we want to check today before it gets dark. I love you.” Robin told her. “I love you too. Can you call me before you go to bed tonight? Hopefully hearing your voice will help me fall asleep like your letter did last night.” Regina replied. Robin promised to call her later that night, before disconnecting the mirrors. 

As Robin and Elsa moved on to search the next site, they walked in silence before Elsa spoke up. “Robin,” she started shyly, “Can we talk about something?” Robin was a bit unsure about where this was going, but he figured it would be a good way to pass the time. “Sure, what did you want to talk about?” he asked her. Elsa took a deep breath before speaking, “I’m worried… no not worried… I don’t know how to say it. I guess I have some questions about what John was like before you all came to Storybrooke.” She did not feel like what she was saying made much sense, but she hoped Robin understood what she was trying to say. “Honestly. He was for the most part like the rest of us, we took from the rich and gave to the poor. John was, however, always one of the more sensitive of the group. Not to say that he was weak, but he just has always been a kinder and gentler soul than most of us. Does that answer your question?” Robin hoped that was what she wanted to hear. He would never want to jeopardize his close friend’s relationship. 

“Well, Robin, I could have told you those things,” Elsa let out a chuckle before staying quiet for a couple of seconds to straighten out her thoughts. “I guess what I’m really trying to ask is what his past relationships were like. He won’t talk to me about them and I feel like it’s because of him being my first relationship and he thinks I can’t handle it.” Elsa got all of this out really fast before looking down at her feet as they continued walking. “Ahhh, now I get where this is going. Well, as you can probably guess John was not usually the first guy to get a woman’s attention. Once they get to know him though, the few that did, really fell for him. He hasn’t had more than a handful of girlfriends in the time that I have known him. What I do know of the relationships, most of them would end when the girl he was with began to take advantage of his heart of gold. Is that more along the lines of what you wanted to know?” he hoped he was not overstepping his bounds. 

Elsa let out a sigh, “I guess that is what I’m asking. I love him, Robin. I don’t want him or any of the Merry Men including you questioning that. I, also, don’t plan on hurting him. He’s an amazing guy and I’m not ready for him to know this, but I see a future with him. I want what the rest of you have. I’m worried though that we may not be each other’s true loves and that scares me.” Robin took a moment to think about her concern. To be fair, he and Regina had an unfair advantage when they finally chose to be together. Tink had led Regina to him years earlier and they knew early on in their relationship that they were each other’s true loves. The more he thought about it though, he realized that even if he did not have that piece of information, he thought that he and Regina would still be together. “Plenty of people in relationships don’t know if they are each other’s true loves. Most will never know if they are. What’s important are the feelings you both have for each other. At the end of the day, if you love each other then it is worth it to give your relationship everything you’ve got. Look at Hook and Emma, they don’t know if they are each other’s true loves, but they are still together and making their relationship work everyday. Or Regina and I, just because we know we are each other’s true loves does not mean we don’t have obstacles and things we have to fight through to stay together.” Robin told her.

Elsa did not know what to say as she had so many thoughts running through her mind. “I know this. Emma and I have had the same conversation about true loves but hers is because of her parents. She wants to know but isn’t going to intentionally give up the relationship she has with Killian just to figure it out. I don’t really know why I want to know with John and I. It’s just one of those things that you can’t help but think about when you’re around people who know that the person they are spending the rest of their life with is their true love. Nothing would change the feeling I have for John at this point. He makes me laugh, he is always worrying about me first, and watching him with Roland is something I love to see. It shows me that he will be an amazing father one day.” Elsa could not help but smile thinking about the last time she got to see John babysit Roland. It was definitely a sight she could get used too. “I believe you just answered your own questions. You love him and want to be with him, that is what matters.” Robin told her. Elsa looked over and smiled at Robin before whispering a quick, ‘thank you’. “Now let’s get moving so we can make it back to the people we love sooner rather than later.” Robin told her before leading the way through a densely wooded area towards the next location to search.

Regina tried to pass the time the rest of the evening as best she could. She made dinner with Henry, took care of Roland and Genevieve’s bedtime routines with some help from Tink, and tucked Henry into bed as well. It still seemed as if time between conversations with Robin would be dragging along. Regina knew it because she was worried about him. Had they found the crimson crown yet? Were they still okay of had they run into trouble? She may not even know it if he got hurt or worse. She hated not knowing and feeling helpless to stop something bad from happening to her husband. Once everyone else was in bed, Regina decided to relax and take a bath. She kept the mirror with her in the bathroom and as she was getting out the bath, she still had not heard from Robin. To pass some more time she made herself comfortable in bed, turning on the bedside lamp so she could read a book.

As more time passed, Regina became increasingly worried about not hearing from Robin. She decided that she could not wait any longer and she would just call him. “Robin” was all Regina said to the mirror. She anxiously waited for a few minutes, but he never responded. Regina did her best to convince herself that he was just tired and probably fell asleep right away and the mirror was not close enough to him at the moment to connect. Unfortunately, she knew that Robin also was not one to break his promises to anyone, but especially to her. It also did not help that she has had the feeling that something was wrong ever since they set this plan into motion. She chose to lay down in bed and attempt to fall asleep.

Regina awoke the next morning after a restless night sleep. She would only manage to fall asleep for about 45 minutes at a time, before waking up tossing and turning. It was the nightmares she was having of what could have happened to Robin that were consistently waking her up. She tried to push the memories of her nightmares from her mind as she reached for the mirror. Regina wanted to try to make contact with Robin again. “Robin” she said to the mirror. Once again she waited and nothing happened. The feeling of worry that something was wrong she had been having were now joined by feelings of panic and fear that she had been right all along. This was a bad idea from the start and losing contact with Robin proved that. Her mind was racing with all the scenarios of what may have gone wrong. She also realized that the Enchanted Forest was likely vastly different from what it was when they were there. This left many possible dangers that she did not even know about which only increased her anxiety.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a knock on her door and Henry’s head peaking around the door. “Mom, are you okay?” Henry asked. Regina did not realize that some tears had begun to fall from her eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine. What is it sweetie?” she responded. “No mom, you’re not fine. What is wrong?” Henry pushed her a bit. Why must her son be so perceptive to the world around him was the first thought she had. “Come on in my little prince.” Regina invited Henry into the room and patted the bed next to her. Henry climbed into the bed and curled up next to his mother. “I’m just worried about your dad. He was supposed to call me last night and he didn’t. I tried calling him, but the mirrors wouldn’t connect. I attempted to use the mirror again a few minutes ago and it still did not work. He may have just fallen asleep as soon as they made camp last night and isn’t up yet.” Regina explained. “I’m sure he’s fine mom. Dad is great at stuff like this.” Henry tried to reassure her. Regina could tell that Henry was putting on a brave face for her. It was clear that he was now worried as well. She kissed the side of his head and pulled him in tight to her. Holding her now teenage son, did not happen often and she wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. It did not completely take away her worries, but it did help to take her mind off of them for a few moments.

Reality set back in quickly though. While Regina was trying to reassure Henry, she realized this situation was likely much dire than she was letting on. Going this long without contact with Robin meant he likely was in trouble and possibly much worse. What if she never heard his accented voice say he loved her again? Never got to tell him she loved him again. Never felt the warmth and love that radiated from him when he held her again. Never got to smell his forest scent she loved so much. Never felt her heart skip a beat when she kissed him again. Never made love with him again. Never felt the feeling of safety and comfort as she fell asleep in his arms again. Never got to feel her heart overflow with love as she watched him with their children again. Never got to grow old with him. She would give anything right now just to hear his voice again. In the blink of an eye she may have lost the future that they both fought so hard for and it was tearing her apart inside.

She tried to ground herself in this moment with one of their sons in her arms. She would find a way to bring him back to her. To all of them. Regina knew she needed to call the others and let them know that things were not going as planned and that they needed to start working on plans to rescue Robin and Elsa. She just wanted to stay here with Henry for a few moments more before reality came crashing back down on her again. Robin was in trouble and she might lose him. If she had not lost him already…


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46 

 

Since both the girls came home the Jones/Swan house has been anything but peaceful. Even though the girls had been nursing great for the first few weeks when she would nurse them at the same time now she was struggling. All Emma wanted was for this to work out because she wanted this bonding time with her girls, but neither one wanted to nurse while the other was nursing. It has gotten to the point that she will nurse one during one feeding while the other got the bottle from Killian and for the next feeding they would switch. She did not like doing it this way; she wanted this time with them before she was going to be going back to work and they were only getting to nurse when she was home. Emma was currently sitting on the bed trying to nurse both girls when Killian came back in from taking his shower with just a towel wrapped around his waist. When he realized Emma had not looked up at him, he was a little confused. “Love,” Killian started, “What’s wrong?” Emma had heard him come back into the room, but was not ready to have this conversation with anyone but she knew he would keep trying since she had tears in her eyes. “They won’t nurse at the same time again and the right side is really hurting even though Kensington is latched correctly,” Emma answers but tries to hide the fact that her voice broke. 

Killian pulled clothes on as fast as he could before moving over to sit next to his fiancee on the bed. “Emma, if you need to take a break take it. I can go make a bottle. I know you don’t want to have to pump but love it’s better than you being in pain.” Killian tells her as he places a kiss to her temple. “That’s the problem, Jones. Even pumping hurts. I’m thinking I must have a plugged milk duct.” Emma says trying to keep the pain out of her voice. Killian did not know what to say to the love of his life. He felt bad for her and could tell that this pain was affecting her more than she wanted to let on. “Swan, I wish there was something I could do to help.” Killian tells her as he stares down at his girls. Emma smiled over at him, “I’m already doing what I can do to help for now. Moist hot packs to heat it and then nursing as much as possible on the right side to loosen the plugged duct. Please don’t worry so much.” Emma says leaning her head toward him for a kiss. “I just don’t like seeing you in pain, love,” Killian says placing kisses not only to her lips but also to Kensington’s head. 

Emma’s plugged duct finally loosened up not only with nursing the girls, but with Killian’s help as well. He was more than willing to help later that night when Emma told him what he could do to help even though she could have easily done it herself. Now that she was no longer in pain while nursing the girls both had settled into nursing great again. This meant that Emma could enjoy the time she had with the girls. Today though, she had to run over to the station to take care of some paperwork that needed to be handled by her for Killian leaving the force and for Elsa to take over the role. Thankfully things in Storybrooke had been quiet the past week and a half since the station was down two more people at the moment with Robin and Elsa being back in the Enchanted Forest. When Emma gets to the station she realizes that things have not been going as well as her father had been telling her. Nobody was currently in the office and it was a disaster. She could not believe what she was seeing. She sat down at her desk and decided to get her paperwork done before she called her dad and Little John to get them back to the station. As she was sitting at her desk, she keeps peaking at her phone because she is worried about Killian being alone with the girls. She knows that she needs to stop worrying so much, because he will be keeping them when she goes back to work and she knows that he can handle it. 

She put her phone into her drawer so that she would not be tempted to call Killian. Once she was done with her work she started working on organizing the station and called her Dad and L.J. to come back to help her. After she got off the phone with them she got a call from Regina. “Regina, slow down.” Emma says as she sits back down in her chair, putting the phone on speaker so that she could eat her lunch and listen at the same time. “I tried calling Robin on the mirror last night but he didn’t answer so I decided to wait and try again this morning like every morning but they still aren’t answering and I’m worried something is wrong. We need to figure out what happened how to help them.” Emma did not know what say but she was also confused, “Are you sure something is wrong? How are we supposed to help them?” Regina was still freaking out, “I’m positive, Robin promised to call me last night and he does not break his promises. Even if he fell asleep early last night, that does not explain him not answering this morning. Something is really wrong, I can feel it. We need to find Elsa’s extra bean or find another portal. I need to get to the Enchanted Forest. Ah crap, I need to call Little John and tell him. He’s going to be so worried about Elsa.” Emma sighed before saying, “Don’t worry about telling him, he is on his way to the station as we speak, so I’ll tell him.” This confused Regina, “Why are you at the station aren’t you are still on maternity leave?” Emma could not help but chuckle, “I needed to do some paperwork but I think that I’m going to come back early because we are down two deputies and this place is a disaster.” Now it was Regina’s turn to chuckle and after her freaking out it was nice to hear, “Well Miss Swan, you did leave your father in charge.” Emma let out a big laugh as her father and Little John came into the office, “Regina it’s all going to be okay. We will figure out how to find Robin and Elsa. But I’m going to go. John and David just walked in and I don’t think Little John is going to take this well.” After saying goodbye Emma got up from her desk and moved out of her office to talk to the guys. 

When Emma informs John that Regina was not able to reach Robin and Elsa he starts panicking. She also, tells them that she will be coming back from maternity leave early since they are down two people and the two they are down are missing. “Emma, I don’t know if that is such a good idea,” David told her sitting on the edge of a desk, “Killian isn’t going to like you coming back so soon especially since you had to have a c-section.” Emma let out a sigh looking down at her cellphone, her lock screen was a picture of Killian with Ansleigh and Kensington that he did not know she had taken. She missed him and the girls. She knew she had to discuss it with Hook and she was worried about how he would respond. “I know Dad; I need to get home to discuss it with him if you guys can handle today. I’ll let you know later what’s going on. Little John, try not to worry so much about Robin and Elsa. Regina and I will figure out a way to find them and bring them home.” Once both the guys nod in agreement Emma heads home to her fiance and their baby girls. 

Coming into the house Emma does not hear a sound and goes in search of Killian and the girls. The closer she gets to the nursery she hears Killian talking to the girls, but when she reaches the doorway she realizes he is not just talking to them, but he is telling Ansleigh and Kensington, their story. Instead of letting him know she was there she stayed hidden and listened to him talk. As he told their story she could hear the love he had for her in his voice and it made her fall in love with him even more. When she heard Killian say, “Your mommy has always seemed to think she was sneaky but she really isn’t.” She knew she had been caught and when she turned the corner to see him staring at her with a smile she smiled back and moved to stare down at the little ones in his arms. She leaned over to give the girls kisses on the head before she moved her lips over to kiss Killian. After he tried to further the kiss and Emma stopped his advances, he handed Ansleigh off to her and they placed them in their cribs for their nap. Even though they were sleeping in their bassinets at night Emma and Killian wanted to get them used to sleeping in the cribs sooner rather than later so they were taking all of their naps in them. 

They moved toward the living room where they laid curled up together on the couch stealing kisses and talking about little things. As they were lying there Emma realized that now would be the best time to talk to Killian about her going back to work. “Killian,” Emma said looking at him from her position on his chest, “Can I talk to you about something?” Killian stared down at her, “You can talk to me about anything, love.” Emma did not know how to start. Resting her chin on her hands she contemplates what to say next, “I think I’m ready to head back to work.” Emma could see his face change from happy to being in shock. “Emma, it’s only been five and a half weeks since you had a c-section and it’s only been less than a week since Ansleigh came home.” He wanted to get up and move, but he was not willing to give up cuddling with Emma, especially after everything they had been through recently. “Killian, I know but we’re down two deputies at the station and Robin and Elsa aren’t back yet which isn’t good. Regina was supposed to hear from them last night and this morning and she hasn’t been able to get through. I need to be able to help.” Emma tells him as she sits up and moves to the other corner of the couch. She can see in Killian’s eyes that he does not like that she moved, but he does not fight her on it and he gets up to grab the monitor from the kitchen. Even though they both know the girls are still sleeping.

“Swan, I know you want to go back to work, but I would prefer you not. I’m not going to stand in your way if that’s what you choose to do. I guess I’ll just have to get over it.” Killian tells her grabbing a tumbler and pouring rum into it before downing it. Emma was not ready to have this conversation if he was going to drink. “I guess you will,” she said moving to the master bedroom. Killian sat down on the couch with his tumbler and the rum. As he went to take another drink he realized that he did not want to turn to rum every time he and Emma were having a disagreement. He had began only having a drink or two when they were hanging out with friends because it’s not just them anymore. He has to think about their girls. He sat on the couch thinking about how he felt and for the life of him he could not figure out why Emma was ready to go back to work this soon after having the girls. While he was thinking on all of it he heard the lock to the apartment move and saw Henry come through the door with Melody. “Well hello, lad. What are you doing here? I thought you would be at Regina’s or your grandparents.” Killian said as the teenagers put their book bags on the table before heading to the cabinets for a snack. “Well Neal is sick so he is fussy and Genevieve has been crying even more since last night and I have no idea why. It’s seems this house is quiet for the time being. Where is mom?” Henry said to him as he grabbed a glass of juice for both he and Melody. Killian looked at them and watched his son place a kiss to his girlfriend’s cheek before he found the words for what he wanted to say, “She’s in the bedroom lying down. She was a little tired after spending some time at the station this morning.” What Killian did not know was that Emma had come out of the room and heard every word, “There is no reason to lie to my son.” Henry looked over in shock and Killian did not get a chance to answer since the girls started crying, but Emma could see the pain in his eyes. Hook ignored the comment and moved to the nursery to check on the girls. 

“Mom,” Henry started getting her attention, “Why did you have to say ‘my son’ to Dad? What is going on with the two of you? This isn’t like you.” Emma knew she had not only hurt her fiance with her words, but also Henry. Peeking next to him she could tell that Melody was trying hard not to listen to what was going on. “We’ve just hit a rough patch, kid. Every couple goes through it. We will be fine.” Emma says turning to make herself a cup of hot chocolate. While heating the milk, she kept staring down the hall waiting on Killian to come out of the nursery with the girls. Once she was done she realizes she made enough for all four of them so pouring it into cups she places Henry’s and Melody’s in front of them before moving back to the counter for her’s and Killian’s. When she’s done mixing them, she heads down the hall to their bedroom. As she passes the nursery, the door is closed so she places the cups on their nightstands before moving back to Ansleigh and Kensington’s room. Killian was lying on the floor in front of Kensington’s crib with her on his chest. His left arm was resting under his head while his right hand was placed gently on Kensi’s back to keep her in place where she lay sleeping. “Killian, can we speak in our room please?” Killian nodded before standing up and passing Kensington to her and moving to follow her out of the nursery. 

Emma moved to the bed to sit down when Kensington kept trying to nurse through the shirt. Killian stayed standing in the doorway not knowing what he wanted to do. He was hurt by Emma’s words and was not really in the mood to talk to her. He wanted to go out to the kitchen, give their son a hug, and head out on the Jolly Roger for a couple of hours. “Can you please stop standing in the doorway and talk to me.” Emma asked as she got herself situated in order to nurse Kensi. “I think I’m going to go down to the Jolly Roger for a little bit and let you spend some time with the girls.” Killian tells her as he moves toward the closet to grab his boots. Before he leaves their room he places a kiss to Kensington’s head, moving toward the door. “Killian, we need to talk about this. We can’t keep doing this every time one of us doesn’t like what the other has to say,” Emma tells him as he is getting ready to walk down the hall, he pauses, but does not say anything. Once Hook reached the kitchen table he ruffled Henry’s hair and told him that he would see him later. 

When he got to the Jolly Roger all he wanted was to be back home with his family. He was not backing down from this though. It is much too early for Emma to go back to work full-time. He needs her to understand where he is coming from. The girls came earlier than either of them hoped they would and he did not want Emma getting hurt because she went back too early. As he headed below deck he started to think of their many memories that they have made on the ship. He could not believe that after chasing her for so long she was finally his, but so much kept coming between them and they were letting it. The longer he sat on his ship the more he realized he really was not in the mood to go home and fight with his fiancee. At the same time he did not want to be away from Ansleigh and Kensington so he decided it was time to head home so he did not miss bedtime with them. As he was walking in the door he could not hear a sound and that worried him. He went in search of his family and all he found was Emma sitting up in their bed asleep. Looking down at the cell phone in his hand he knew the girls should still be up so he went in search of them and did not find them. Turning to head back to the master bedroom Emma is standing in the doorway. “Where are the girls,” he asks trying to keep his voice calm. Emma continues to stare at him, “I had my mom come and get them. I think we need a night to talk and not have to worry about anything else. I, also, think we both need some sleep.” Emma heads back to their room, but when she turns around to say something she realizes that Killian did not follow her. 

Emma steps back down the hall and sees him lying on the couch with his shirt off and a blanket covering him. “Why are you not coming to bed?” Emma asks him as she moves his feet to sit at the end of the couch. Not opening his eyes, “I am going to bed, but you just moved my feet and I’m no longer comfortable.” Emma pushed his legs until he was forced to have to sit up, “There is no way you are comfortable on the couch and stop being ridiculous and come to bed so we can talk this through.” As he continue to stare ahead of himself toward the t.v. he says, “I’m not coming to bed. I’ve said what I have to say and you don’t care so I’ll be sleeping right here on the couch.” Emma stands from the couch and moves back down the hall muttering, “This is ridiculous. Stubborn pirate.” Since she thought she said it low enough that Hook did not hear her, she jumped when he spoke from the doorway of their room. “Aye, love it is ridiculous because you want to go back to work 5 weeks after having major surgery. Aye, I am a stubborn pirate because I care about the health and wellbeing of my fiancee, who seems to think she is invincible.”

Emma let out a sigh moving over to stand in front of him, “I know I’m being stubborn too, but you have to understand why I want to get back to work.” Placing his hand on her cheek he finally makes eye contact, “I understand that Robin and Elsa are missing and you want to help but you can help from here or Regina’s without having to go back to work. It’s too soon, even Regina is taking her full maternity leave and she only had one baby. Please Swan just wait to go back to work and help Regina from here or from her house.” Emma leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss to his lips. She could tell how much he wanted this and she was finally willing to admit that he was right and that it was too soon for her to go back to work. They move back out to the living room after they realize that neither of them have eaten dinner. They curl up on the couch watching a movie while they waited on their food when a knock is heard on the door. Thinking that it is the food Killian moves from under Emma and opens the door when he sees Little John looking at him, “Hey, mate, what’s going on?” Emma hears Killian speaking to someone and moves over to see what is going on, “John what can we do for you?” He let out a shuddered sigh before saying, “We need to find Elsa and we need to find her now. I can’t sit at home seeing everything that is her’s and not knowing where she is.” Emma pulled Killian’s arm to move him back before telling Little John to come in. 

John hung around with Emma and Killian for a couple of hours helping bounce ideas off of each other on what they could do to get Elsa and Robin back. They kept in contact with Regina bouncing the ideas off of her as well. When it started to get late and Little John could tell that they were losing Emma he apologized for interrupting their evening and left the apartment. Killian carried Emma to bed before calling Snow to check in on the girls. After knowing that they were well, he crawled into bed and curled himself around his fiancee. The next morning they woke up to Mary Margaret dropping off the girls before heading to work. They spend the rest of the day just the four of them. When the girls were sleeping they were researching ways to try and find Elsa. They were constantly in contact with Regina and could tell that she had not slept much because of the worry she was feeling about her husband being missing. The next few days continued on about the same way and they were all ready for Elsa and Robin to be back so they did not have to worry so much.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47 

Five days. It had been five days since Regina had any contact with her husband. She had been trying everything in her power to make contact or find a way to get to the Enchanted Forest. Unfortunately, she had been failing miserably. The only thing keeping her together right now was her children. They needed her. Falling apart would leave them without both parents and Regina was not going to let that happen.

Regina was making her way through the house checking on each of the children. She started with Roland who was fast asleep in his bed. Henry was, also, asleep when she checked on him. Regina kissed both boys on the hair before making her way out of each of their rooms. Both boys were exhausted as their sister’s crying had woke them up last night. The last one she checked on was Genevieve, her sweet infant daughter had fallen asleep just after her 7pm feeding. She was still waking up once or twice a night, but Tink had offered to get up with her tonight for Regina.

Ever since Robin had been gone, Regina had been getting even less sleep than a typical sleep deprived new mother. She struggled to fall asleep, running through a million horrible scenarios that may have caused the loss of contact with Robin. She spent most nights awake researching ways to get to the Enchanted Forest. Robin had hidden the remaining magic beans in order to prevent Regina from following him. He knew her to well, she would have gone after him as soon as they lost contact if not sooner had he have not taken the beans. Since the option of using the magic beans was off the table, Regina had been researching every avenue available to return to the Enchanted Forest or at the very least another way to make contact with Robin.

Regina stood in the open doorway watching her daughter sleep in awe of how big she was getting. After several minutes, she decided to head to her room to try to get some sleep. When Tink offered to get up with Genevieve during the night tonight, she made Regina promise to use the time wisely and get a good night’s sleep. As Regina finished closing her daughter’s door, she felt a set of strong arms wrap around her waist from behind her. It was rather dark in the hallway so she did not have a good view of the arms that were holding her. Regina’s initial instinct was to fight whoever it was, but in the same instant that she was ready to conjure a fireball an accented voice which she knew well whispered “Hi” in her ear. Her sense of smell also picked up on the scent of forest emanating from the person holding her. As the realization of whose arms were around her dawned on Regina, she immediately leaned back, pushing herself closer to him. She closed her eyes, taking it all in out of fear that this was a dream or her mind playing tricks on her. After a few moments she opened her eyes and asked, “Are you really here right now?”

At this, Robin spun her around in his arms to allow them to see each other face to face. “Yes my love. I am so sorry for how long it took me to get back, but I assure you that I am here now and I am not leaving you.” he responded as she placed her hands on his hips and he placed his hands on her cheeks. They stayed like this for a few seconds just staring into each other’s eyes, bright blue ones meeting deep brown. Regina pulled Robin into a hug, holding onto him as tightly as she could. Robin placed kiss after kiss in her hair as they held each other. When they broke their hug, they returned to their original position of Regina’s hands resting on his hips and Robin’s cupping her cheeks. 

Regina had a million emotions going through her right now and was struggling to form a coherent thought. “Hi,” was all she could muster for the moment. Robin rubbed her cheek with his thumb as his other arm wrapped around her lower back to pull her closer to him. Regina responded by bringing their foreheads together to rest on one another. She was slowly regaining her ability to form clear thoughts. “I missed you,” she whispered. Robin felt his response to this could be better demonstrated physically so, he leaned in and captured her lips in a loving kiss. They traded several sweet and loving kisses before pulling away and bringing their foreheads to rest against each other again.

After a few moments, Regina removed one of her hands from his waist to give him a gentle slap in the arm. “Ow. What was that for?” Robin questioned. “You scared me. I didn’t know if you were even…” Regina could not finish what she was saying as tears began to well in her eyes just at the thought of what could have happened. “I know and I am truly sorry for the delay in my return. I did everything in my power to get back to you and our children as quickly as possible. Speaking of which, how are the children?” Robin responded. “They are good. Genevieve is sleeping 5 to 6 hours at night, waking up for a feeding and then going back to sleep for another 5 to 6 hours most nights. The boys have both been worried about you and tired since their sister’s cries will sometimes wake them up at night as well. They all missed their dad though.” Regina filled him in on a bit of what had been going on while he was gone. Robin kissed her forehead, before pulling her back into his arms for another hug. Regina broke the silence between them after a few minutes saying “I have a million questions at the moment, but to be honest I am beyond exhausted and all I want to do is sleep in your arms.” she admitted to him. “As mi’lady wishes,” Robin said before taking her hand to lead her to their bedroom. 

Regina changed into a pair of silk pajamas that she knew were one of Robin’s favorites as Robin stripped down to just his underwear. They both crawled into bed, Robin laying on his back and Regina curling into his side, resting her head and one of her hands on his chest as their legs intertwined with each other. Regina tilted her head up to face Robin, kissing him twice before pulling away. “I love you,” Regina told him. Robin kissed her forehead, before Regina moved to rest her cheek on his chest. “I love you too,” he replied. Robin placed another kiss in her hair. Through all of this Robin was rubbing gentle circles on Regina’s back. When they both relaxed into each they fell into a deep sleep within moments.

Regina awoke early the next morning, long before the sunrise. She had woke up once during the night when she heard her daughter crying, but she heard Tink make her way to the infant and soon no longer heard her daughter’s cries. Robin, also, woke up as well and sleepily told Regina “I got her,” but before he could get out of bed Regina wrapped her arms tighter around him. “Tink’s got her, go back to sleep.” Regina explained. The knowledge that her daughter was being cared for allowed her to quickly fall back to sleep in her husband’s arms. It took Robin a bit longer to fall back to sleep. To pass the time he watched the amazing woman he held in his arms sleep. He mindlessly rubbed circles on her arm and soon fell back to sleep as well.

Robin was still asleep, his breathing slow and deep. Regina laid there just watching him sleep, gently rubbing her thumb along his bare chest. “Good morning,” Robin said, his voice sleepy. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Regina replied, a pang of guilt hitting her. “It is quite alright my love. I missed you more than words could ever explain and it’s nice to wake up to your beautiful face. Do you want me to explain what happened?” Robin threw the question out there, not entirely sure what her response would be.

“Later...” Regina whispered in his ear, before climbing on top of him. She placed a passionate kiss to his lips, running her hands along his bare chest. “I had something else in mind first.” she told him with a mischievous grin on her face. “Can we?” Robin asked. “We can, the doctor cleared me for all activity at my appointment a few days ago.” Regina answered as she leaned into him, placing a searing kiss to his lips. They shared several heated kisses as they stripped each other of their clothing. They made love twice before collapsing in bed next to each other.

“Well that was definitely a great way to celebrate my homecoming,” Robin joked. “Yes it was. Now, what happened to you guys in the Enchanted Forest?” Regina questioned. “First things first, are you sure you’re okay? You seemed like you were in pain at times during...” Robin replied, but could not finish his thought as Regina kissed him. “I’m fine, it’s just a bit painful the first few times after giving birth. Trust me, it’s still very much enjoyable. I also may have done some healing and restoration spells to myself to make it far less painful. They say it gets easier the more sex you have,” Regina explained. “I can help with that.” Robin replied, rolling closer to her and beginning to kiss her neck. “Yes you can, but right now I want to know what happened,” Regina told him, giving him a gentle nudge in the chest.

Robin rolled onto his back, pulling Regina with him so she was laying halfway on top of him. Regina gently kissed his chest as Robin began to speak. “Okay, so after the last time I talked to you, Elsa and I headed for the next place we needed to search. We got lucky and managed to find the crimson crown. I collected a few of them and put them into my satchel. I was about to call you on the mirror to let you know that we had found it and were heading home when I heard voices nearby. The next thing I remember I was waking up in a cell with Elsa in the cell next to me. My satchel with the mirror, magic bean, and crimson crowns was gone. Elsa was still unconscious, but I started trying to figure out where we were. Just as Elsa was starting to come around, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs that led to our cells. It was a man and woman who looked less than pleased to see us. They questioned me as to what we were doing here and I tried to explain that we were looking for the crimson crown and meant no harm. Clearly they did not believe me as they left the food they had brought with them and headed back up the stairs. Whatever they knocked us out with to get us in the cells was messing with Elsa’s power so we were powerless to defend ourselves until they came back. It took a few days, but slowly her powers returned. She froze the bars of her cell and was able to break them and escape. She then did the same to the bars of my cell which allowed me to escape as well. We made our way up the stairs and began to search for my satchel. It was clear that we were in a castle, I just don’t know whom it belonged too. We eventually found our captors and Elsa used her powers to temporarily stun them. My satchel was on the man so we grabbed it and got out of there as fast as we could. Once we got outside, we immediately used the bean and made our way back here.” Robin told her an overall idea of what happened.

“So did you ever figure out who they were?” Regina asked, she was furious with whoever these people were. “No, they never told us their names. After that first time they came down, the only time we saw them was for them to bring us food and water and soon after Elsa came around and they talked to her. She told them the same story I did and clearly it did not appease them. Once we escaped, we did not stick around long enough to figure out who they were or what they were planning to do with us.” Robin told her. She pulled closer to him, thankful they had escaped and that Robin was back in her arms. She was about to ask him more questions, but the sound of little feet making their way towards their room. “Shoot!” Regina said before she used magic to put pajamas on their naked bodies. No need to scar the children by catching their parents in bed together, even if they were not actually doing anything at the time.

Roland and Henry had been coming into their room every morning as Regina was usually relaxing in bed with Genevieve until the two of them got up. Surprisingly, Genny was still sleeping which had allowed Robin and Regina some extra time to themselves this morning. As the door was opening, Henry said “Hey mom, Roland and I want pan…” he was cut off by Roland excitedly squealing “Daddy!” Both boys ran over to their parents’ bed, jumping into the bed on either side of Robin. Roland threw his arms around his father’s neck as Henry wrapped an arm around Robin’s shoulder. Robin wrapped an arm around each of his sons. Robin pulled his sons in tight and kissed the tops of both of their heads. The only thing missing was their beautiful little sister, but both Robin and Regina knew better than to wake a sleeping baby. “I missed you both,” Robin told them, beginning to get a little choked up at finally holding two of his children again. Something he was not sure he would ever do again while being held captive. “We missed you too,” both boys said in unison.

Regina watched her three boys being reunited, her eyes glistening with a few tears of joy seeing father and sons together again. She scooted towards them and wrapped her arms around Roland who had ended up in between Robin and herself. Robin saw her reaction to the scene before her and reached for her hand to interlace their fingers. She gave him a teary smile and gently squeezed his hand. Robin leaned over Roland to place a kiss to her lips. When he pulled away he whispered “I love you” to her. She whispered “I love you too” to him. “And I love you boys,” Robin told Henry and Roland.

As if she could sense she was being left out of something important, Genny began to fuss in her crib. Regina got up from the bed as the boys started to tell their dad about everything that happened while he was gone. She made her way to their daughter’s room and ran into Tink along the way. “I thought I told you to get some rest,” Tink said giving her and disapproving look. “Robin came home last night.” Regina told her, with a huge smile on her face. “Wait really?!” Tink exclaimed. Regina nodded her head at the fairy. Tink hugged Regina before releasing her to go grab Genevieve. “Good morning sweet girl. Guess who’s home. Your daddy. Come on let’s go see him.” Regina told her daughter as she picked her up out of the crib.

She made her way back to the boys in the master bedroom. As soon as she made it through the door, she walked over to Robin’s side of the bed and handed their daughter to him. “Hi Genevieve. I missed you little one,” Robin said, kissing her forehead before cradling her in his arms. Regina slipped back into the bed with her family and wrapped an arm around Roland. Five days ago, this seemed like a far off dream to Regina, to have her whole family here and safe with her. She was beyond grateful that having her husband and three children all cuddled in bed together was again a reality for her.

Meanwhile across town:   
Little John still had not heard what was going on with his best friend and his girlfriend. All he wanted was to have Elsa back in his arms but for the past couple of days neither Regina nor Emma had called him with an update. He was trying to keep busy while at the station, but since nothing was really happening in town the station had been quiet and David was spending more time at home with Neal. Even all the paperwork he had been doing was not keeping his mind off of where Elsa could be and how she was holding up. He knew that she loved him, but he could tell that something had been bugging her before she left with Robin for the Enchanted Forest. 

He was in the middle of cleaning up the kitchen from his dinner when he heard the handle to the door start jiggling. He was a little confused about who would be trying to get in when he heard the lock click and it really made him start thinking. The only one with keys to his and Elsa’s apartment was Robin and Emma; their two best friends. He knew that it could not be Robin and he could not figure out why Emma would be coming into the apartment when she could have just called him. He knew it could be someone breaking in, but he continued to do the dishes, staying on high alert in case it was someone who should not be there. He could hear footsteps but they certainly did not belong to a man. He did not move until he could smell the scent of snow coming from the doorway between the kitchen and living room. In that moment he knew that his love was home and that the dishes could wait. Turning toward the doorway he could tell how tired she looked and without saying anything to her, he grabbed her hand and and pulled her into his arms.

Neither of them spoke any words as Elsa buried her face into John’s neck as he picked her up to hold her closer to him so she did not have to stretch so far. After a couple of minutes of just letting John hold her Elsa pulls back places her hands on his cheeks and pull his face closer to her and kisses him. As John went to pull back Elsa would not let him and moved to push the kiss farther. Little John was finally able pull Elsa away from him, “Sweetheart, tell me what’s wrong?” Elsa does not say anything just shakes her head as tears fall down her cheeks and she moves to turn away from him. John does not let her get far before he picks her up and carries her to their bed. “You don’t have to tell me anything tonight El, but I do want to know what happened in the Enchanted Forest. Just know that I’m here to listen and I love you.” Elsa got out of bed, moving toward the bathroom with her pajamas before coming back and curling up into Little John’s side. “I love you too,” were the last words Elsa whispered before she fell asleep. 

Elsa woke up the next morning still curled up in John’s arms and she could tell that he did not sleep very well last night because he was watching over her. She moves as little, just so that she can reach him a little better before she starts to pepper his face and neck with little kisses. “Mmmm, I could get used to a beautiful woman waking me up like this.” Elsa just smiled against his neck and continued with her kisses until Little John wrapped his arms around Elsa and flipped them so that he was holding himself up over her and he could pepper her with kisses before he finally catches her lips with his. “John, “ Elsa says as he continues kissing her but when he stopped she definitely had something to say, “No don’t stop please!” John lets out a chuckle before saying, “The only way I’ll keep going is if you tell me what happened in the Enchanted Forest.” Elsa sighed, “L.J. I really don’t want to talk about it right now. I just want to spend time with you.” He turned Elsa to face him as he moved away from her, “I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve been here worrying for too long for you to come home and not tell me what happened.” Elsa places a quick kiss to his lips before telling him about how she and Robin were captured. She could see the worry in his eyes, but continues with her story. John was finally happy to know what had happened and was happy to have his girl back in his arms. “Oh I need to text Emma,” Elsa said rolling away from John and grabbing her cell phone.

Elsa: Hey, Robin and I are back. I want to see you and the girls! 

Emma: Thank god you guys are back! You really had all of us scared. Are you sure you’re up to coming over today? How did your reunion with John go? ;) 

Elsa: Yes, I’m up to coming over. Will tell you everything when I get there. 

Emma: Okay, can’t wait to see you! Come over whenever. We will be here. 

Elsa: Okay will be over soon! Can’t wait to see you guys either! 

When Elsa got to Emma and Hook’s she was so excited to be able to spend some time with her best friend and her girls. After spending most of the morning with them and telling Emma everything that happened in the Enchanted Forest she headed back to the apartment. When she got there, John was not there, but he had left a note on the counter telling him he had gone into the station and would be back a little later. Elsa had talked to Emma more about her and L.J., but was now really nervous since she had told him she wanted to wait until she came back from the Enchanted Forest. While she and Robin were being held in the cells, she could not stop thinking about it. She knew she was ready for this next step in their relationship, but even after talking to both Robin and Emma she was still very nervous. She set about figuring out what they could have for dinner and was ready to make him a romantic dinner at home so that they could talk. 

When L.J. came back home, Elsa had set the table with a single candle and all the other lights were dimmed in the house. “Elsa,” he called into their apartment as he took off his jacket, “Sweetheart, where are you?” He starts heading toward their bedroom when he finally hears Elsa. “Give me a minute I’ll be right out,” she tells him from behind the closed door of their room, “Just go sit down at the table, please.” John turns around and heads back to the table but before he can sit down he hears their door open. Turning around he sees Elsa coming out in a fitted mint lace dress. He did not even have words to explain how Elsa looked. “Elsa…” he started, “Your look stunning, love.” Elsa smiled at him before walking straight into his arms before kissing him. They sat down and had a fantastic dinner while they talked. Elsa finally had the courage to talk about the hard stuff. “John, can we discuss what we started before I left?” Elsa asked him trying to calm her nerves. John stood from his chair and took her hand before leading her over to the couch in the living room. “Can the kitchen wait till morning or do we need to clean it first?” John asked before sitting down with her. Elsa just nodded her head with a quiet it can wait. 

“Sweetheart, just so you know I’m willing to wait. I’m not worried about how long it takes us to get to that point even if you want us to wait until our wedding night.” John tells her as her eyes go wide and she has a big smile on her face. “I can’t wait to marry you, but I’m also not ready for you to ask that question. Lets save that topic for another time,” Elsa tells him, “What I wanted to talk about is that I’m done waiting. I want to be with you. I love you more than anything and I want this with you.” Elsa can see a look on his face that she cannot quite read until he leans toward her and places a sweet kiss to her lips. “El, are you sure about this?” John asks scoops her up into his lap in order to kiss her more. “Honey, I would not have told you yes if I was not sure,” Elsa says between kisses. Not waiting on another word John rises to his feet and carries her into their bedroom. Standing her up at the end of the bed he unties the bow that is holding her dress on in the back as she starts to unbutton his shirt. After getting each other down to their undergarments John picked Elsa up while continuing to kiss her and laid her gently on the bed. They continued making out before taking their relationship to the next level. 

The next morning, Elsa woke up curled against John’s chest. She could not believe that something like sex could make her fall so much more in love with him. “Mmmm go back to sleep, love,” John groaned as he pulled her closer to his chest. “What if I don’t want to go back to sleep,” Elsa flirts, leaning over to place a kiss to his chest over his heart. Without a word John pulls her up to him and places passionate kiss to her lips before continuing where they left over early that morning between little catnaps. After falling into a sated sleep they both woke up a couple of hours later and had breakfast together before heading into the station for work. Elsa was ready to get their lives back to as normal as possible when you live in a town filled with magical beings.


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

 

Elsa and Robin had been back in Storybrooke for a week and things were back to normal. They were still trying to find Morgana though. Emma had talked Killian into her going back to work when the girls were 8 weeks old even though Robin and Elsa were back and she didn’t have to worry about the station. Killian knew that even though she didn’t want to leave the girls she felt like she wasn’t doing anything to help in defeating Morgana and keeping her oldest safe. Since all the the girls had gotten bigger and are doing great the family decided it was time to resume family night on the Friday before Emma was due to start back to work on Monday. The only problem they kept having was trying to figure out which house they should have it at. Emma didn’t want to have to pack up two of everything that she would need for the girls but Regina and Robin’s home was bigger and could hold all of them a little more comfortably. After Emma and Regina talked they decided that having it at Regina’s was for the best and they could set the twins up in the guest room in pack and plays so that they could all sleep while everyone else was hanging out. They were, also, adding two more guests into the family night as they all missed Elsa when she was gone and knew that her and John would love spending time with everyone. Melody was joining them again so Henry was just as happy that he got to spend time with not only his whole family, but his girlfriend. He had not spent much time with her since Robin returned and he was spending most of his time with him.

When Friday rolled around Emma decided to spend the day at Regina’s with the twins so that they could have a “girls day” while Robin was at work and Killian was making sure that everything was okay on the Jolly Roger since he wouldn’t be able to get back over there as often once Emma went back to work. Emma and Regina were currently lounging in the living room while the girls were napping when Emma finally spoke up. “Regina, I’m not so sure I’m ready to go back to work,” Emma said not looking up from her hands that she was fidgeting with in her lap. “Then don’t,” Regina responded, “Nobody told you that you needed to take four weeks less of maternity leave. It was your choice and you can change your mind if you want to.” Emma finally looked up and over to the woman she felt she could now consider her friend and not just her son’s other mother. She was expecting the mayor of the town to want her sheriff back in the office. “Emma, you had twins early who just spent a month in the NICU and had to have a c-section. Nobody expects you to be ready to go back to work when it’s been under 8 weeks. I’m not even ready and I only had one,” Regina tells her as she stands up and moves toward the kitchen to start on dinner. 

Emma followed and as she went to say something else she heard the distinct cry of a baby coming through the monitor before it was joined in chorus with two other cries. “Looks like dinner will have to wait Regina,” Emma tells her as they move toward the stairs to get the girls up. Bringing them back downstairs Emma unbuttons her shirt and begins nursing the girls while Regina heats up a bottle for Genny. “How long do you plan to continue nursing the girls?” Regina asked as she moved into the living room to start feeding Genny her bottle. “I think I’m going to for as long as the girls want to. I will nurse them in the morning and before bed but then Killian will give them pumped milk during the day and I will pump throughout the day at the station,” Emma tells her before Kensington lets out a cry and releases. Moving Kensi up to her shoulder with one hand Emma pats her back before moving her back down to nurse some more before doing the same thing with Ansleigh. 

Once all the girls were done eating and burped they put them in their bounce chairs to play in the kitchen while the two moms started getting dinner going before everyone showed up for family night. As Regina was putting the lasagna in the oven Robin and Killian both walked in the door. Both moving over the their respective wife and fiance and gave them kisses before giving a kiss to their daughters. Robin excused himself to get cleaned up before everyone else arrived. “Killian, there is an extra bag with clothes on Henry’s bed if you would like to change too,” Emma tells him as she wraps her arms back around him and moves her hand under his jacket to scratch his back. “I think I will do that. Want me to take a girl with me, love?” Killian asked before placing a quick kiss to her lips. “Sure, if you want to. I don’t think they will object to a little daddy time,” Emma chuckles as she moves back to the counter to continue working on the salad. Regina lets out a chuckle as Killian leaves the kitchen with Ansleigh secure in his arms. “Who would have ever thought that Captain Hook would ever be so romantic and mushy,” Regina says a she continued to laugh. “Don’t laugh too hard at him Regina. You should see yourself. Who knew that the Evil Queen could find her true love and get her happily ever after!” Emma threw back at her. “Okay, truce. I guess all four of us have come a long way from our pasts to get to where we are today.” Regina sighs as she starts getting the plates out of the cabinet as Henry walks in the door with Melody. 

After giving each mom a hug and his sisters kisses on the head he sees the plates and starts setting the table. “Melody and I are going to work on homework before dinner if that’s okay. Can we do it in my room since we need the table for dinner?” Henry asks his moms. “How about you do it in the living room. Your dad is changing in your room plus it’s too far from supervision unless you want the baby monitor in your room.” Regina tells him as he rolls his eyes before moving to the living room and plopping on the couch.

“Hen, you knew that they would say that. I don’t know why you even asked.” Melody said as she got out her Math book and a notebook to start doing the problems they were assigned for homework. “I know,” Henry sighed, “I was just hoping that they would finally trust us to be in a room by ourselves by now.” Melody let out a laugh, “We are in a room alone so either kiss me quick or do your work because you know someone will be coming in here soon.” Henry leaned over and placed his hand on her cheek before pulling his girlfriend into a sweet kiss before pulling back when he heard footsteps from one of his dads. 

As dinner cooked the adults caught up on what was going on for the day while Melody and Henry worked on homework. A half hour later Roland came running through the door followed by Neal and the Charmings. Roland flung himself into the arms of his mother once he realized that Robin had Genevieve in his arms. Hellos were exchanged before the adults moved to the table to talk and school books were put away so that Melody and Henry could play with Roland and Neal before dinner. Snow and David each had a granddaughter and Emma decided that instead of sitting in her own chair she was going to sit on Killian’s lap which her father didn’t like, but Regina had Genny in her arms and was sitting in Robin’s lap. Both of them had missed spending the day with their significant others and wanted to be close to them. Every once in awhile Emma would feel a soft kiss placed to her neck before she would squeeze his hand in a signal to tell him to stop. Turning toward him Emma whispered, “We can continue that later after we get home if you stop now,” before she placed a quick kiss to his lips and the girls started crying. Moving to take the twins from her parents she moved to the living room to nurse them on the couch, as Killian followed to cover her and the girls with a blanket since she wasn’t comfortable nursing in front of Henry, Robin, or her Dad. 

After all three little girls had been fed and put in their bouncy seats it was time for dinner as they all gathered around the dining room table. While eating dinner the family had multiple conversations going at a time and for some it was hard to keep track of what was being said. Once everyone was done the guys moved into the kitchen to clean up the dishes and load them into the dishwasher as the women moved to the living room to help set up Disney Monopoly for all of them to play and set up the DVD player to have Finding Nemo playing for the little boys. Everyone else would be playing Monopoly as couples since there isn’t enough pieces for them to play individually. The women were chatting while the little boys watched the movie and when the guys were done with the dishes they came into the living room each of them carrying two pieces of Chocolate Cream Pie, one for them and one for their girls. Thank yous could be heard all around before they all sat down to begin the game. Halfway through the movie Neal and Roland were both asleep on the floor and the girls were asleep in their bouncies. Regina could tell that even though it was still early Henry and Melody were fading fast too. It was Henry’s week to stay with Regina and Robin.

So after goodbyes were exchanged Emma said she would walk Melody home so that Killian could get the girls home and into their cribs. She kisses her girls before Killian puts their carseats in the car and turning back toward her. Wrapping his arms around Emma’s waist, “Be careful love!” Killian says before placing a kiss to her lips. “I will,” Emma replies with a kiss before whispering, “Start the bath water and I’ll join you as soon as I get home from dropping Melody off.” Killian let out a chuckle before kissing her again and getting in the car to take their daughters home. As Hook headed in one direction Emma and Melody headed in another. Emma was asking her questions about school and Henry when she started getting a weird feeling like something was wrong. She urged Melody to start walking faster since they weren’t far from her house but Emma’s gut was telling her something was off. 

Killian had just gotten home and put the girls to bed when he started feeling like something was wrong. He checked on the girls in their cribs and realized that they were okay. He then decided to text Henry. 

Killian: Hey lad, sorry to wake you. 

Killian: Have you heard from Melody or your mom that she made it home?

Henry: I was awake waiting on the text. Haven’t heard anything yet but you know Mom. They are probably fine and just forgot to text. 

Killian: Something just feels off. I’m going to call your mom. I’ll let you know what I find out. 

Henry: Okay, Dad. Thanks!

Killian pulls up Emma’s name on the phone and starts calling it but it just keeps going to voicemail at this point he realizes that something has gone wrong and he needs to find the love of his life. He grabs his coat to walk out the door when he remembers that he can’t just leave the house anymore because the girls are sleeping in their beds. 

Henry: DAD! Melody just appeared in the living room! Morgana kidnapped Mom!!! Get back over here and don’t forget the girls. 

After reading Henry’s text he didn’t waste any time in getting the girls back in their carseats, grabbed clothes and diapers for tomorrow along with some bottles and breastmilk that Emma had stocked in the freezer. He got everything in the car and drove back to Regina and Robin’s as fast and as safe as he could. Robin met him in the driveway where they each grabbed a girl and a bag before heading back inside. Robin took the girls and the carseats up to the guest bedroom and laid them down in the two bassinets that Regina and Emma had conjured up earlier for naps. Killian headed straight into the living room where he saw Henry comforting a crying Melody and Regina pacing. “What happened?” Killian asked as he looked down at the teenagers. Melody looked up at him with sad eyes, “I’m sorry. We were talking and I could tell that she felt something was off and she kept urging me to walk faster. Morgana used her tentacle and went to grab me but Emma pushed me out of the way and Morgana got her instead. Before she could render Emma’s magic useless, Emma was able to poof me here. I don’t know where she took her or what she wanted. I’m so sorry Killian. This is all my fault.” 

Killian got down at her’s and Henry’s level before he spoke to her, “Melody this isn’t your fault it’s Morgana’s. Have your parents been called?” Regina looked over and said, “Yes,” just as Robin walked back into the living room with Ariel and Eric. “Everyone is staying here. We have an extra guest room and Roland will be put in Robin’s and my bed so that Melody can take his bed. I don’t know about the rest of the adults but I’m staying up so we can try to figure out where Emma is but I think Henry and Melody need to get to bed,” Regina tells them as she looks down at Henry. With a nod he hugs all of his parents goodnight and leads the way up the stairs with Melody and Robin.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49: 

 

The adults stayed up for hours, coming up with ideas, fighting about those ideas, before starting over again from scratch. "Look it's really late, we all need sleep and we can start fresh in the morning." Regina told the group. "Sure, when it's Robin who is missing you stay up all night to find him. When it's Emma all you want to do is sleep." Hook snapped back. "Whoa, mate take it easy on her. We're all not thinking clearly, some sleep would do us some good." Robin said trying to diffuse the tension. Hook just rolled his eyes. "Really pirate! Robin is my husband! So yeah, when he was missing and I couldn't sleep anyway, I did research all night. A lot of good it did me. We aren't getting anywhere with how tired everyone is right now. Everyone can get a few hours of sleep and we'll start first thing in the morning with a locator spell and go from there." Regina replied. "You can all do whatever you want. I'll find her on my own while you all get you precious sleep." Hook replied before leaving the house. Snow gave Charming a look and he kissed her temple before going after Hook. They decided Snow would still stay the night to help with all the kids that would be staying at the house tonight.

Once everyone was settled into where they would be sleeping for the night, Robin headed to his and Regina's room. Roland was fast asleep in their bed, but Regina was not in the bed with him. He turned his head towards the window and saw her familiar form pacing.

He made his way toward her and pulled her into a hug. Regina more than willingly allows him to wrap her up in his arms. "We're going to figure this out." Robin whispers before kissing her temple. Regina sighs, she prays he's right, but what if he's not. She pulls herself closer to him and rests her head on his chest, trying to push the doubts away. "I hope so, but maybe Hook was right. Emma is likely being tortured as we speak and here I am getting ready to crawl into bed with my husband and son to get sleep." Regina whispered back. They were both trying to keep quiet and not wake Roland. "Regina, you need sleep. It's the only way we're going to figure this out. You are not doing Emma any favors if you're too exhausted to focus." Robin replied. 

"It's just when it was me being tortured, I just remember praying for it all to end. I wasn't sure help would ever come and my body couldn't take much more. Sure, I put on my best evil queen mask for the man who was torturing me, but underneath I was terrified and in excruciating pain. I had my share of torture for years with my mother and then Leopold, but at least with them while I suffered mentally in between, I physically would get a break from time to time. With this though there was little to no break, just as my body would stop spasming and relax he would send another shock of electricity through my body. It felt like it would never end. I hope Emma can just hold on until we get to her." Regina responded. "Wait when were you tortured? And by who?" Robin said an edge of anger in his tone. "It was several months before I met you. His name was Greg Mendell and to be fair I did have his father killed back when the Evil Queen was still very much who I was. The Charmings and Emma managed to rescue me. Greg was killed in Neverland after he and his partner Tamara kidnapped Henry." Regina explained. Robin took a calming breath as he held her in his arms. This guy was lucky he was dead, otherwise Robin would hunt him down and kill him in the worst way possible. He wished, just once, he could have been there to prevent some of her pain. He sighed and kissed her forehead. "Come on, we both need to get at least a few hours of sleep." Robin said as he took her hand, leading her towards their bed. They both cuddled up on either side of their son draping an arm over him to hold each other and Roland. Robin briefly leans over Roland's sleeping form to place a chaste goodnight kiss to her lips and whisper "I love you." to which she responds with a whispered "I love you, too."

Regina managed to get a few hours hours of sleep and only woke up with one nightmare after discussing being tortured with Robin. When she stirred because of her nightmare, Robin had reached across their sleeping son, kissing her forehead and running his fingers through her hair to comfort and soothe her back to sleep. She could never thank him enough for the love and support he provided her with and she was beyond thankful to have him here.

She got up early and kissed her husband and son on the forehead, careful not to wake them. Before heading downstairs, she checked on Henry and Genny as well. She left a note of the counter letting Robin know where she was going, so he would not be alarmed when he woke up.

Regina made her way to her vault to make the locator potion, before heading to Emma and Hook's apartment to pick up the blonde's leather jacket. She sent a text to Hook and Charming to meet her outside Granny's so they could work together to find Emma. She received a one word response from Hook agreeing to meet her.

After meeting up with Hook and David at Granny's, they poured the potion on Emma's jacket and followed where it lead them. When they reached the docks the jacket stopped moving and dropped to the ground.

"Well, now what's the grand plan your majesty?" Hook snapped at her. "We have to figure out where Morgana took her, at least we know they headed towards water. I'm guessing that means she has some kind of underwater lair. I mean she is a sea witch after all. Now we have to figure out how to find it and get to it without drowning or alerting her we're coming. I'm going to head home now and start searching my books for ideas. I recommend you both head to the library and work with Belle to do some of your own research." Regina replied. The two men nodded in agreement and headed in the direction of the library. Regina poofed herself home since she choose not to drive today.

After Regina had poofed herself away from the two of them Charming did not know what to do as his future son-in-law started heading to the library without him. “Hook!,” he called after him causing Killian to realize that David was not following. “What’s taking you so long, mate?” Hook asks wanting to continue on. “I think you should go back to the house. Spend some time with the girls and Henry. I’ll go to the library and work with Belle to see what we can find.” Charming tells him, but can tell that Killian is not happy about it. “I need to find Emma. Nothing else matters,” Hook tells him trying to move but his future father-in-law grabbed his arm stopping him. “Killian, Emma does matter but you know she would not like you being away from Ansleigh and Kensington this long. Especially since she can’t be there. The girls need you too. Take a little break, just for a couple of hours; have Henry help you there and send Snow to me if you want more people checking books, but Emma would not be happy with you if you had other people taking care of the girls when they need their father. Letting out a sigh Killian knew Charming was right and agreed before heading toward his car to go back to Regina and Robin’s. 

Meanwhile at the Locksley home: 

"Hello, love." Robin said as she walked into the kitchen. "Hi." was all Regina said back as she wrapped her arms around Robin's waist from behind. He was cleaning up from lunch, while Snow entertained the kids in the living room. "Are you okay?" he asked. He could hear her sigh behind him. "I'm just happy to have you back. To be able to come home to you and wrap myself in your arms. There was a bit of time there, when I thought I may never be able to do this again. It just puts things in perspective. Especially with everything going on now." she replied.

Robin turned around and pulled her into a hug. "We're going to save Emma. Any luck with the locator potion on her jacket?" Regina shook her head as she curled further into Robin's arms. "I think Morgana is holding her captive in some underwater lair. I just don't know where it is or how to get there without alerting the sea witch. I know that if I come face to face with Morgana I can at least keep her at bay long enough to save Emma, but what happens if we can't find her? What happens if my theory is wrong? We both know she's not just holding her captive and the more time Emma spends with her, the worse things will get." Regina replied. "Stop being so hard on yourself my love. We're going to save Emma, but if we rush into something half cocked there's a good chance she'll end up dead before we can save her and probably end with a lot of us seriously injured as well. Ignore Hook, he's not thinking clearly. Do what your instincts are telling you. I know you can do this." Robin replied, he pulled pulled her into a long and loving kiss.

"Thank you. I love you." Regina replied. "I love you too." Robin replied kissing her again before he continued to clean up the kitchen. “I need to speak to Henry. I’m sure he’s terrified and he tends to do better when I keep informed of everything.” Regina told Robin before heading upstairs.

She found Henry laying on his bed, staring at his phone. Melody sat on the floor next to his bed, working on some homework. Regina knocked on Henry’s door frame before entering, even though the door was left wide open. “Melody could you excuse us for a moment?” Regina requested. Melody got up from her spot on the floor and headed downstairs.

“What are you up to?” she asked Henry. He shrugged his shoulders at her as Regina took a seat next to him at the edge of his bed. She ran her hand through his hair. “Sweetheart, please talk to me”.

“I’m trying to do some research on the internet about Morgana. Most of it is about the stupid Little Mermaid movie. I haven’t found anything useful yet. I’m also hoping that mom might somehow escape and text me.” Henry finally replied without looking up from his phone. “Henry, look at me.” she gently placed a hand under his chin, tilting his head so he was looking at her. “We are going to find Emma. I promise you, we are doing everything we can to find her. Okay?” Regina told him. “Okay. Now can I get back to my research?” Henry replied. He still seemed pretty down, but that was to be expected. “Of course, let me know if you find anything. I love you, Henry.” she told him. “I love you too, mom.” he mumbled back, already completely engrossed in his phone again.

Regina checked on Genny in her room and the twins who were napping in the guest room, before heading downstairs to check on Roland. When the front door opened as Regina made it downstairs she was shocked to see Killian walk back into the house. “I thought you were going to the library with Charming,” Regina says looking over toward him. “He felt I was more help with my girls than stressing over trying to find Emma. He reminded me that Emma is not the only one who needs me now,” Killian says heading toward the stairs without another word. 

When Killian got up the the guest room he realized he did not know what time it was and did not know what his girls would be doing a the the moment. He stopped outside the cracked door waiting to see if he could hear anything coming from the room. When all he heard was silence he opened the door just a little bit to see if his girls were in their travel beds or if Snow had them somewhere else. Looking into the first bed his sweet Kensi was sound asleep wrapped up in her swaddle. Before he moved over to peek at Ansleigh, Hook grabbed his cellphone out of his packet. 

Hook: Can you go to the library and help Charming and Belle research? I’m back and going to spend some time with the girls. I will keep an eye on Neal if you need me to. 

Snow: Don’t worry about Neal. Robin said he will handle him and Roland. You worry about those beautiful granddaughters of mine and we will do everything we can to bring Emma back to us. 

Hook: Thank you! Let me know when you guys get back to let us know what you find out. 

Not waiting on a response back, Killian changed into shorts and a t-shirt before grabbing his girls out of their beds and moving them into the bed with him so that he could continue to spend time with them even if they were sleeping. He laid down but while his girls slept next to him he could not seem to shut off his brain to sleep. He does not know when or how long it took, but he was eventually able to fall asleep with his arm draped gently over his baby girls, all the while worrying about bringing their mom back to them. 

While Hook was spending time with the girls, Regina let Ariel and Eric know what was happening. Melody and Henry were going to do their research on the internet. Meanwhile, Regina, Robin, Eric, and Ariel would use the books at the house to do research and Snow, Charming, and Belle would do the same at the library. Regina with Robin’s help, pulled several books from her study and brought them to the living room and the four of them began their research.

Snow made her way to the library quickly once Hook informed her of their plan. By the time she arrived, Belle and David were both engrossed in books doing research. She placed a hand on David’s shoulder as she made her way towards them “Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked, unable to hide the shake in her voice.

David finished reading the sentence he was reading before following his wife towards a quiet corner of the library. “What is it, Snow?” David could see the fear in his wife’s eyes. “How have we lost our daughter yet again? I feel like every time we get her back we get a matter of days before something else tries to take her away again? When will all of this stop and we can just be a family, without our lives hanging in the balance.” Snow said, beginning to cry. “We’re going to get her back. We may lose each other from time to time, but we always find each other in this family. I promise we will get our daughter back. I hope one day we can lead normal lives, but until then all we can do is work together and keep each other safe.” Charming replied, pulling her into his arms and kissing her temple. They would get their daughter back and keep this family together, just as they always did. Or at least he hoped that would be the case.


End file.
